01 April 2012
Fig. 1
A Hubble Space Telescope image of the UFO Galaxy
This image shows the spiral galaxy NGC 2683, also known as the UFO Galaxy, which resembles a flying saucer.
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA
The Hubble Space Telescope (HST), a joint project of the US space agency, NASA, and the European Space Agency, ESA, has imaged the "UFO Galaxy" (Fig. 1). Also known as NGC 2683, the UFO is a spiral galaxy that resembles a typical science fiction spaceship. This is why the astronomers at the Astronaut Memorial Planetarium and Observatory in Florida gave it its interesting nickname.
The UFO Galaxy is viewed almost edge-on, since the plane of its disc is inclined at a small angle to the line of sight. Edge-on spiral galaxies allow astronomers to observe the fine lanes of cosmic dust of the spiral arms silhouetted against the yellowish glow of the galaxy’s core. In addition, bright clusters of young blue stars shine scattered throughout the UFO’s disc, tracing its star-birth regions.
Perhaps surprisingly, side-on views of galaxies like the UFO do not prevent astronomers from mapping their structures. Studies of the characteristics of the light coming from NGC 2683 suggest that this is a barred spiral, a spiral galaxy with a central bar-like structure composed of stars. The UFO Galaxy is located approximately 25 million light years away. Fig. 1 has been produced from visual and infrared images, obtained by HST’s Advanced Camera for Surveys.
References
NASA
www.nasa.gov/
Wikipedia
Further Reading
http://hubblesite.org/
www.spacetelescope.org/
Aymen Mohamed Ibrahem
Senior Astronomy Specialist