This striking image showcases the unusually contorted appearance of NGC 2276, an appearance caused by two different astrophysical interactions – one with the superheated gas pervading galaxy clusters, and one with a nearby galactic neighbour.
The interaction of NGC 2276 with the intracluster medium – the superheated gas lying between the galaxies in galaxy clusters – has ignited a burst of star formation along one edge of the galaxy.
This wave of star formation is visible as the bright, blue-tinged glow of newly formed massive stars towards the left side of this image, and gives the galaxy a strangely lopsided appearance. [Read more…] about Hubble inspects a contorted spiral galaxy
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