Quote:
Originally Posted by renormalised
Yes, this one is a toughy.....in most cases of ring galaxies, there's an obvious collisional cause as there is usually an associated companion nearby, e.g. the Cartwheel (PGC2248), but in this case (and in some others) there's no companion to be seen. Although, if a collision happened long enough ago, there's a good chance you may not see one because it's moved on and/or the companion may have been absorbed in the collision.
Your hunch about two birthing phases maybe right, Craig, but objects like this need further study (no doubt Alex will have the answers...as usual  ).
Or, as they summise, it may have something to do with a previously existing central bar.
What's neat here, is that you have another ring galaxy behind Hoag's that you can see between the ring and the nucleus  |
Yes Carl, What a coincidence
What are the chances of this happening again
