Badgalaxyman's 10 favourites, part II
(second instalment of five galaxies)
IC 3476
One of the many weird wonders in the Virgo Cluster
NGC 1097A
The small companion galaxy of NGC 1097.
This one is a real puzzler.
What is the actual structure of this galaxy?
What is its orientation in the sky?
Why is it of such a symmetric morphology, but still so unusual in appearance?
NGC 1332
A very unusual S0 galaxy with a complex internal structure.
S0 galaxies are extremely diverse in appearance, and many of them, like this one, are
not "just like a spiral galaxy, but without the dust and gas and luminous stars"
NGC 7727
Has the morphology of a product of the merger of two galaxies.
The "ripples/waves that are not spiral arms, set in a disky structure" are typical of some merger products that might be on the way to becoming an S0 galaxy. (other S0s are formed simply through gas stripping of spirals)
NGC 5078
Nominally an S0 galaxy, but infrared observations show that there is plenty of star formation going on, deep inside this galaxy, which is not however evident at visual wavelengths.
The dust lane structure is complex; warped/bent or tilted, and also the dust lane splits into several streams.
The bulge is absolutely enormous.
Might include some photos of N5078 in another post.