Hubble photographed the irregular galaxy

The presented image, taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, captures the galaxy NGC 1156. It is located at a distance of 25 million light-years from Earth in the direction of the constellation Aries.

The irregular galaxy NGC 1156 (Hubble photo). Source: ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. B. Tully, R. Jansen, R. Windhorst

NGC 1156 has a shape completely unlike that of most other galaxies photographed by Hubble. So, it is inhabited by a large number of bright luminaries, but at the same time there are no traces of spiral arms in it. Further, in the middle of NGC 1156, regions of active star formation are highlighted in red. But at the same time they are characterized by diffuse radiation, and its core consists of old stars, which rather corresponds to an elliptical galaxy. But at the same time, NGC 1156 is completely unlike such structures in its shape.

Astronomers use the term irregular galaxies to classify such objects. They have neither a spiral nor an elliptical structure. Most often, such galaxies have a chaotic shape without a pronounced core and spiral branches.

It is also worth noting that NGC 1156 is an isolated galaxy. It has no close neighbors whose gravity could affect its shape or trigger the starburst observed in it.

The NGC 1156 image was taken as part of the Every Known Nearby Galaxy program. It was initiated after astronomers noticed that only three-quarters of the galaxies within 30 million light-years of the Milky Way have been studied in sufficient detail to study the composition of the stars inside them. They suggested that in between larger projects Hubble could take pictures of the remaining quarter. This will make the best use of the telescope’s very valuable observation time.

Earlier we talked about how the JWST telescope received the most detailed photo of a galaxy with a double bar.

According to https://esahubble.org

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