Image of the day

Captured by
Byron Davies

M-52, NGC-7635, SH2-157, SH2-158, SH2-159, SH2-161, NGC-7510

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Hubble Spots an Enormous Fossil Galaxy

02/09/2008 02:56AM

Hubble Spots an Enormous Fossil Galaxy

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured a new image of the galaxy NGC 1132 which is, most likely, a cosmic fossil – the aftermath of an enormous multi-galactic pile-up, where the carnage of collision after collision has built up a brilliant but fuzzy giant elliptical galaxy far outshining typical galaxies. Located approximately 320 million light-years away in the constellation Eridanus, NGC 1132, together with the small dwarf galaxies surrounding it, are dubbed a “fossil group” as they are most likely the remains of a group of galaxies that merged together in the recent past.


Comments:

  • Jef [Jef Spalding]
  • 02/11/2008 04:25PM
I like the less likely explanation:<br><br>'.... they may be very rare objects that formed in a region or period of time where the growth of moderate-sized galaxies was somehow suppressed, and only one large galaxy formed.'<br><br>only because it is more fitting for such an amazing conflagration of dark matter, mass, and globular clusters. Truly awe inspiring photo and background galaxies!

Nice photo but what is new, compared to say older shots of this long examined NGC object?. Why is there evidence for large amounts of dark matter?.