A galaxy
71. on the edge
The bright streak slicing across the frame of this spectacular image is an edge-on view of galaxy NGC 4762, and a number of
other distant galaxies can be seen scattered in the background.
Previously thought to be a barred spiral galaxy, NGC 4762 has since been found to be a lenticular galaxy, a kind of
intermediate step between an elliptical and a spiral. The edge-on view that we have of this particular galaxy makes it difficult
to determine its true shape.
The galaxy’s disc is asymmetric and warped, which could potentially be explained by NGC 4762 violently cannibalising a
smaller galaxy in the past. The remains of this former companion may then have settled within NGC 4762’s disc, redistributing
the gas and stars and so changing the disc’s morphology.
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA