Cartwheel Galaxy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Cartwheel Galaxy, false color composite. |
|
| Observation data: J2000 epoch | |
|---|---|
| Constellation: | Sculptor |
| Right ascension: | 00h 37m 41.1s[1] |
| Declination: | -33° 42′ 59″[1] |
| Redshift: | 9050 ± 3 km/s[1] |
| Distance: | 500 Mly[2] |
| Type: | S pec (Ring)[1] |
| Apparent dimensions (V): | 1′.1 × 0′.9[1] |
| Apparent magnitude (V): | 15.2[1] |
| Notable features: | Ring shape |
| Other designations | |
| MCG-06-02-022a,[1] PGC 2248[1] | |
| See also: Galaxy, List of galaxies | |
The Cartwheel Galaxy (also known as ESO 350-40) is a lenticular galaxy about 500 million light-years away in the constellation Sculptor. It is about 150,000 light-years across.
The galaxy was once a normal galaxy like the Milky Way before it underwent a head-on collision with a nearby galaxy. When the nearby galaxy passed through the Cartwheel Galaxy, the force of the collision caused a powerful shock wave through the galaxy, like a rock being tossed into a sandbed.
Moving at high speed, the shock wave swept up gas and dust, creating a starburst around the galaxy's center portion that were unscathed. This explains the bluish ring around the center, brighter portion.
[edit] External links
[edit] References
 |
This galaxy-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
