The Cartwheel Galaxy
Located 500 million light-years away in the constellation Sculptor, the galaxy looks like a wagon wheel. The galaxy's nucleus is the bright object in the center of the image; the spoke-like structures are wisps of material connecting the nucleus to the outer ring of young stars. The galaxy's unusual configuration was created by a nearly head-on collision with a smaller galaxy about 200 million years ago.
Credit:Curt Struck and Philip Appleton (Iowa State University), Kirk Borne (Hughes STX Corporation), and Ray Lucas ( Space Telescope Science Institute), and NASA/ESA
About the Image
About the Object
| Name: | Cartwheel Galaxy |
|---|---|
| Type: | Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Lenticular |
| Distance: | 400 million light years |
| Constellation: | Sculptor |
| Category: | Galaxies |
Classic Wallpapers
Coordinates
| Position (RA): | 0 37 40.41 |
|---|---|
| Position (Dec): | -33° 42' 57.59" |
| Field of view: | 1.21 x 1.47 arcminutes |
| Orientation: | North is 52.6° left of vertical |
View in ESASky:
View in WorldWide Telescope:
