Recent images from the Hubble Space Telescope show a deep eye view of the galactic needle.
That spiral galaxy It is called the “eye of the needle”, although it is officially known as NGC 247 and Caldwell 62. NASA He said May 10, the nickname is appropriate given that this galaxy is a dwarf spiral, making it a relatively small group of stars compared to our own. Milky Way.
That Hubble Space Telescope The image depicts a crater on the other side of the galaxy, which NASA says has baffled astronomers. “There is a gas shortage in that part of the galaxy, which means there isn’t much material that can form new stars,” the agency wrote.
Related: The best Hubble Space Telescope images of all time!
“Where star formation In this region, dim old stars fill the void. Scientists still don’t know how this strange feature formed, the agency added, but research suggests past gravitational interactions with other galaxies.
Wormholes aren’t the only mystery this galaxy has.
Beneath the galactic disk, you can spew out some of the smaller, distant galaxies past the 11 million Needle Eye mark. light year, relatively close to us in terms of galaxies. But getting to know those distant galaxies is something astronomers are also trying to do.
“The bright red indicates areas of high density of gas and dust, and strong star formation near the galaxy’s edges,” NASA said. There is also a bright front star occurring in the field of view.
Integral to the galactic core is the source of the ultra-bright X-rays as well, but it’s unclear where they came from.
Are they my stars? black hole Eating an unusually large amount of gas? Or are they the long-awaited ‘medium mass’ black holes, which are dozens of times larger than their stellar counterparts but smaller than black holes? Monster black hole At the center of most galaxies? “
Independent study of galaxies using other forms of light, such as X-rays with NASA Chandra . X-Ray Observatory, indicating that the X-rays originate from the disk of a medium-mass black hole. But more research will be needed to determine exactly what is going on.
Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter tweet embed. Follow us on Twitter tweet embed or Facebook.
–