Edge On Spiral Galaxy NGC 891
Credit & Copyright: J. C. Barentine
(PSI) et al.,
KPNO,
NOAO
Explanation:
Is our Galaxy this thin? We believe so.
The
Milky Way, like
NGC 891 pictured above,
has the width of a typical
spiral galaxy.
Spirals have most of their bright stars,
gas, and obscuring
dust
in a thin disk.
This disk can be so thin the spiral galaxy appears edge-on like a compact
disk seen sideways.
The dark band across the middle is a lane of
dust
which absorbs light.
Some of the billions of stars that orbit the center of
NGC 891,
however, appear to be moving too fast to just be traveling in
circles.
What causes this peculiar motion?
One
hypothesis is that
NGC 891 has a large bar
across its center -- a bar that would be obvious
were we to see this
galaxy face-on instead of edge-on.
This false color picture was constructed from 3 near infrared images.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
