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Gallaxy NGC 1672

April 6, 2007 on 11:29 am | In space, science, nasa, astronomy | No Comments

This is the new image from Nasa’s Hubble Space Telescope, show nearby galaxy NGC 1672.  NGC 1672, which is more than 60 million light years away, is not a typical barred spiral galaxy and is different from normal spiral galaxies with it’s spiral arms that do not twist all the way into the center. Instead, they are attached to the two ends of a straight bar of stars enclosing the nucleus.

It is believed that barred spirals have a unique mechanism that channels gas from the disk inwards towards the nucleus. This allows the bar portion of the galaxy to serve as an area to generate new stars. It is believed by astronomers that the bars are short-lived, which leads to the question - will non-barred galaxies develop a bar in the future, or have they already hosted one that has since disappeared? 

Find out more over at Science Daily.