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Credit & Copyright: ESA/Hubble &
NASA
Explanation:
Why is there a bright line on the sky?
What is pictured above is actually a disk
galaxy being seen almost perfectly edge on.
The image from the
Hubble Space Telescope
is a spectacular visual reminder of just how
thin
disk
galaxies can be.
NGC 4762, a galaxy in the nearby
Virgo Cluster of Galaxies,
is so thin that it is actually
difficult to determine what type of disk galaxy it is.
Its lack of a visible dust lane indicates that it is a low-dust
lenticular galaxy, although
it is still possible that a view from on top would reveal spiral structure.
The unusual stellar line spans about 100,000
light years from end to end.
Near NGC 4762's center is a slight bulge of stars, while
many background galaxies
are visible far in the distance.
Galaxies that appear this thin are rare mostly because our Earth must reside
(nearly) in the extrapolated
planes of their thin galactic disks.
Galaxies that actually are this thin are relatively common -- for example
our own
Milky Way Galaxy is thought to be about this
thin.
Astrophysicists:
Browse 900+ codes in the Astrophysics Source Code Library
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: edge-on
Publications with words: edge-on
See also: