Celestial hemisphere:  Southern  ·  Constellation: Sculptor (Scl)  ·  Contains:  NGC 134
The Cartwheel Galaxy - Hubble Space Telescope, Rudy Pohl
The Cartwheel Galaxy - Hubble Space Telescope
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The Cartwheel Galaxy - Hubble Space Telescope

The Cartwheel Galaxy - Hubble Space Telescope, Rudy Pohl
The Cartwheel Galaxy - Hubble Space Telescope
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The Cartwheel Galaxy - Hubble Space Telescope

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Description

Astronomers think that the unusual shape of the Cartwheel Galaxy may be due to a previous massive collision with a smaller galaxy, such as those seen to the right of the galaxy here, which apparently crashed right through it. The shock wave produced pushed the gas and dust material outward like when a stone falls into a pool of water resulting in the cartwheel-like shape

The recent star burst activity—a star-forming activity due to massive gas compression waves—has lit up the Cartwheel's outer rim, which has a diameter 1.5 times the size of our own Milky Way galaxy.

The creation of stars by starburst galaxies, such as the Cartwheel Galaxy, results in the formation of large and extremely luminous stars like the ones seen on the left side of the rim. (Wikipedia)

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Data acquisition: Hubble Legacy Archive, NASA

Data processing: Rudy Pohl

Image: RGB colour

Processing software: ESA/ESO/NASA FITS Liberator 3, Photoshop CS5

Note: Some of the background stars were imported from Stellarium from the correct RA and Dec location to provide spacial context.

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The Cartwheel Galaxy - Hubble Space Telescope, Rudy Pohl