Wow, this galaxy looks very different in visible vs.

Wow, this galaxy looks very different in visible vs. UV vs. radio light. Usually collisions lead to spread-out stars and collided gas, but this looks like the opposite to me. Haven’t read all the details yet, though…

Originally shared by Pierre Markuse

Frankenstein Galaxy UGC 1382

In these images here you can see the galaxy UGC 1382 (Leda 7090), located about 250 million light-years away. The galaxy is a lot bigger than scientists first believed, about 718,000 light-years across, which is more than seven times wider than our Milky Way Galaxy (https://goo.gl/aklgg).

The top image is showing optical data by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS, https://goo.gl/kcGBVU), the second images has added ultraviolet data from the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX, https://goo.gl/ndTbMy) and deep optical data from SDSS. With this data you can see the spiral arms of UGC 1382. The third image added data for low-density hydrogen gas (shown in green), detected at radio wavelengths by the Very Large Array (VLA, https://goo.gl/mcpIoh), now you can see the true extent of the galaxy.

Another odd thing about UGC 1382 is the age of its components. While usually the center of a galaxy is the oldest part, with younger parts spreading out, for UGC 1382 it is the opposite. The center is younger than the spiral disk surrounding it. Scientists believe that the galaxy didn’t form as a singular object but in fact is a combination of different galaxies that interacted.

More on it here:

http://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/frankenstein-galaxy-surprises-astronomers

http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA20695

Image credit: At top, in optical light, UGC 1382 appears to be a simple elliptical galaxy. But spiral arms emerged when astronomers incorporated ultraviolet and deep optical data (middle). Combining that with a view of low-density hydrogen gas (shown in green at right), scientists discovered that UGC 1382 is gigantic. NASA/JPL/Caltech/SDSS/NRAO/L. Hagen and M. Seibert http://goo.gl/TvQYbf

#science   #astronomy   #ugc1382   #galaxy   #leda7090   #sdss   #galex   #vla   #space   #astrophysics