Cartwheel Galaxy

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Cartwheel Galaxy

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.

A spectacular head-on collision between two galaxies is seen in this NASA Hubble Space Telescope true-color image of the Cartwheel Galaxy.
A spectacular head-on collision between two galaxies is seen in this NASA Hubble Space Telescope true-color image of the Cartwheel Galaxy.


[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database. Results for Cartwheel Galaxy. Retrieved on 2006-11-25.
  2. ^ NASA
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