The elegant simplicity of NGC 4111 hides a more violent history than you might think. NGC 4111 is a lenticular, or lens-shaped, galaxy about 50 million light-years from us in the constellation of Canes Venatici (The Hunting Dogs).Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, Acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt
Lenticular galaxies are an intermediate type of galaxy between an elliptical and a spiral. They host aged stars like ellipticals and have a disk like a spiral. However, that’s where the similarities end: They differ from ellipticals because they have a bulge and a thin disk, but are different from spirals because lenticular discs contain very little gas and dust, and do not feature the many-armed structure that is characteristic of spiral galaxies.
At first sight, NGC 4111 looks like a fairly uneventful gala...
Read More
Recent Comments