NGC 772 A Rival to the Milky Way
This galaxy, a spiral galaxy named NGC 772, is no exception. It actually has much in common with our home galaxy, the Milky Way. Each boasts a few satellite galaxies, small galaxies that closely orbit and are gravitationally bound to their parent galaxies. One of NGC 772’s spiral arms has been distorted and disrupted by one of these satellites (NGC 770 — not visible in the image here), leaving it elongated and asymmetrical.
However, the two are also different in a few key ways. For one, NGC 772 is both a peculiar and an unbarred spiral galaxy; respectively, this means that it is somewhat odd in size, shape, or composition, and that it lacks a central feature known as a bar, which we see in many galaxies throughout the cosmos — including the Milky Way. These bars are built of gas and stars, and are thought to funnel and transport material through the galactic core, possibly fueling and igniting various processes such as star formation.Relevante Bilder
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NGC 772NGC 772 ist die Bezeichnung einer Spiralgalaxie vom Typ Sb im Sternbild Widder auf der Ekliptik. Sie ist rund 114 Millionen Lichtjahre von der Milchstraße entfernt und hat einen Durchmesser von etwa 240.000 Lichtjahren. .. weiterlesen