Employees of the research center NOIRLab published a majestic image obtained by the Gemini North telescope. It shows the galaxy NGC 7331, which is often called the Milky Way’s twin.
NGC 7331 is located about 40 million light years from Earth towards the constellation Pegasus. It is the brightest member of the visually close group of galaxies that bears its name. Despite its neighborhood in the sky, it is not a galaxy cluster. In reality, the galaxies of NGC 7331 are located at a very great distance from each other and are not gravitationally bound.
Like the Milky Way, NGC 7331 has a pronounced spiral structure. Because of this, as well as its similar size, it is often called the “twin” of our galaxy, and its image is sometimes used to give an idea of the Milky Way’s appearance.
However, this similarity is not one hundred percent. Several features in the core of NGC 7331 distinguish it from our home galaxy. For example, astronomers have found evidence that our Milky Way has a jumper, a band of stars and dust that runs through its center. Many other spiral galaxies also have a jumper, but NGC 7331 lacks this feature.
In addition, the central bulge of NGC 7331 rotates in the opposite direction to the galactic disc. This is very unusual behavior compared to our Milky Way and other galaxies. It is also worth noting that in photographs of NGC 7331 taken in both visible light and infrared, the galaxy’s nucleus appears to be slightly off-center, with one side of the disk extending further from the nucleus than the opposite side.
The Gemini North image shows many of the details of NGC 7331’s structure. We can see populations of hot stars and dark dust streaks winding through the spiral arms. The galaxy is showing quite a bit of activity. In the last hundred years, astronomers have recorded the appearance of three supernovae.
We previously reported on how astronomers observed an analog of the young Milky Way in the early Universe.
Provided by NOIRLab
