NGC 4731 Galaxy
NGC 4731 in Virgo
is a barred spiral galaxy over 100,000 light-years across, and is located some 65,000,000 light-years away from Earth.
4731 is highly distorted by gravitational interaction with a fellow Virgo cluster member that doesn't appear in this field-
the giant, elliptical galaxy, NGC 4697. The colors in this image highlight young, bluish star clusters along the galaxy's irregular spiral arms.
Part of a smaller, irregular galaxy, NGC 4731A can be seen at the bottom of the image with its own young, blue star clusters.
Many thanks go out to my collaborator and friend, Mike Selby, who acquired and calibrated this fine data.
LARGE
CROP
is a barred spiral galaxy over 100,000 light-years across, and is located some 65,000,000 light-years away from Earth.
4731 is highly distorted by gravitational interaction with a fellow Virgo cluster member that doesn't appear in this field-
the giant, elliptical galaxy, NGC 4697. The colors in this image highlight young, bluish star clusters along the galaxy's irregular spiral arms.
Part of a smaller, irregular galaxy, NGC 4731A can be seen at the bottom of the image with its own young, blue star clusters.
Many thanks go out to my collaborator and friend, Mike Selby, who acquired and calibrated this fine data.
LARGE
CROP