Sunday, July 28, 2013
Like a Circle in a Sprial
Hoag's Object, a very strange ring galaxy with a surrounding symmetric halo of new big blue stars and an older red/yellow core that may or may not have anything to do with the ring. No one has any real insight how this particular ring galaxy formed. It doesn't look like computer generated simulations we have. However, as Belushi used to say in a rant on March on SNL, but that's not the weird part...
At the one o'clock position within the ring is another ring galaxy apparently some distance behind this one. I know in an infinite universe there will be some very strange coincidences if you only look long and hard enough, but what are the freakin' odds that framed in a nearly unique ring galaxy is another in the distance?
It's nearly enough to make you believe in some sort sort of galactic engineering. Nearly.
I've written about NGC 660 before here.
Labels: NCG 660; Hoag's Object
Monday, January 24, 2011
They Just Don't Make Them Like This Anymore
NGC 660, a polar ring galaxy in Pisces about 20 Million light years away. There are plenty of ring galaxies, the result of interaction of two galaxies, a little one passing through the other, larger and usually a sprial, but there are few of these where there is a considerable number of stars in a flat plane configuration within, but in a different plane from, the ring of stars.I find this one particularly beautiful.
Below is Hoag's Object which maintains spiral elements and pretty much defies explanation. Even better is that one can see another ring galaxy inside the ring, at about the one o'clock position. What were the odds of that?
Labels: NCG 660; Hoag's Object
