NGC 2685 is a
confirmed polar ring galaxy - a rare type of galaxy with stars, gas and dust
orbiting in rings perpendicular to the plane of a flat galactic disk. The bizarre configuration could be caused by the chance capture of material from
another galaxy by a disk galaxy, with the captured debris strung out in a
rotating ring. Still, observed properties of NGC 2685 suggest
that the rotating ring structure is remarkably old and stable. In this
sharp view of the peculiar system also known as Arp 336 or the
Helix galaxy, the strange, perpendicular rings are easy to trace as they pass in
front of the galactic disk, along with other disturbed outer structures. NGC
2685 is about 50,000 light-years across and 40 million light-years away in the
constellation Ursa Major.
March 14, 2014
Helix galaxy
NGC 2685 is a
confirmed polar ring galaxy - a rare type of galaxy with stars, gas and dust
orbiting in rings perpendicular to the plane of a flat galactic disk. The bizarre configuration could be caused by the chance capture of material from
another galaxy by a disk galaxy, with the captured debris strung out in a
rotating ring. Still, observed properties of NGC 2685 suggest
that the rotating ring structure is remarkably old and stable. In this
sharp view of the peculiar system also known as Arp 336 or the
Helix galaxy, the strange, perpendicular rings are easy to trace as they pass in
front of the galactic disk, along with other disturbed outer structures. NGC
2685 is about 50,000 light-years across and 40 million light-years away in the
constellation Ursa Major.
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