Polar Ring Galaxy
NGC 660 in Pisces
is a rare 'polar ring galaxy', the first of which was discovered as late as 1978. Only a dozen more have been found since. Polar ring galaxies have a large population of stars, gas, and dust orbiting in rings, nearly perpendicular to the plane of the galactic disk. About one billion years ago, material was either tidally stripped from a passing galaxy to produce the ring, or a smaller galaxy collided orthogonally with the plane of 660's rotation. NGC 660, 24,000,000 light years distant, is also considered a 'starburst galaxy' due to the luminous star formation at its core. Thanks to my friend
Bill Snyder for allowing me to process this data from SRO.
LARGE
is a rare 'polar ring galaxy', the first of which was discovered as late as 1978. Only a dozen more have been found since. Polar ring galaxies have a large population of stars, gas, and dust orbiting in rings, nearly perpendicular to the plane of the galactic disk. About one billion years ago, material was either tidally stripped from a passing galaxy to produce the ring, or a smaller galaxy collided orthogonally with the plane of 660's rotation. NGC 660, 24,000,000 light years distant, is also considered a 'starburst galaxy' due to the luminous star formation at its core. Thanks to my friend
Bill Snyder for allowing me to process this data from SRO.
LARGE
