Cartwheel Galaxy
NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image of the Cartwheel Galaxy. Lying about 500 million light-years away in the constellation of Sculptor, the cartwheel shape of this galaxy is the result of a violent galactic collision. A smaller galaxy has passed right through a large disc galaxy and produced shock waves that swept up gas and dust - much like the ripples produced when a stone is dropped into a lake - and sparked regions of intense star formation (appearing blue). The outermost ring of the galaxy, which is times the size of our Milky Way, marks the shock wave's leading edge.
Size: 3600px × 2760px
Photo credit: © Photo Researchers / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 350-40, astronomical, astronomy, body, cartwheel, celestial, deep, eso, eso350-40, exploration, formation, forming, galaxies, galaxy, heavenly, hubble, lenticular, nebula, nebulae, object, radiation, ring, science, sky, space, spiral, star, stellar, telescope, universe, wind
