Astronomers working with the Subaru telescope have shared images of an amazing and very rare object. They managed to photograph a galaxy with three rings.
To classify galaxies, most astronomers use the so-called Hubble sequence, proposed as early as 1926. According to it, galaxies are divided into elliptical, lenticular and spiral galaxies (with or without a bar). Irregularly shaped galaxies that don’t fit into any of the above categories are classified as irregular.
While this classification can be used for most galaxies, some of them don’t fit into any category, even though they have the right shape. These are ring galaxies. They are characterized by the presence of a dense nucleus surrounded by an extended ring of bright young stars separated from the nucleus by some distance. Visually, ring-shaped galaxies look like planetary nebulae.
Astronomers have different hypotheses for the origin of ring galaxies. The most popular version states that they arise from interactions and mergers with their galactic neighbors. However, there are also alternative hypotheses suggesting accretion of matter from dwarf satellite galaxies or the emergence of instability in the bar.
In any case, ring galaxies are quite rare. However, the object photographed by Subaru stands out even against their background. After all, this galaxy, which is located at a distance of 800 million light years from Earth, has not one, and not even two, but as many as three rings! This makes it exceptionally rare and valuable for further scientific research.
Earlier we told you about how Subaru photographed a galaxy with a polar ring.
Provided by Subaru
