Celestial hemisphere:  Northern  ·  Constellation: Lynx (Lyn)  ·  Contains:  NGC 2793  ·  PGC 2050202  ·  PGC 82356
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NGC 2793, Gary Imm
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NGC 2793

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NGC 2793, Gary Imm
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NGC 2793

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Description

This object is a small ring galaxy located 80 million light years away in the constellation of Lynx at a declination of +34 degrees. This galaxy spans 1 arc-minute in our apparent view, which corresponds to an actual diameter of 30,000 light years.

This galaxy is strange – a bright rectangular offset core, surrounded by a diffuse disk which contains half of a star cluster ring. The galaxy just above and right is PGC 82356. I love the look of the two small galaxies “connected” by a few small orange stars.

Many galaxy rings are believed to be the result of galaxy collisions. Some have speculated that the smaller galaxy in this case may have “punched a hole” in the larger galaxy while passing through it and creating the ring. While this is a very intriguing idea, the reality is that the smaller galaxy is much further away and not interacting with the larger galaxy.

No companion to NGC 2793 has yet to be found, so as of now the source of the ring structure is a mystery.

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