Spiral galaxy NGC 772 features an overdeveloped spiral arm
Published Date: 3/22/2022
Source: phys.org
This impressive image shows the strangely lopsided spiral galaxy NGC 772, which lies over 100 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Aries. Captured by the Gemini North telescope in Hawai'i, one half of the international Gemini Observatory, a program of NSF's NOIRLab, the image shows NGC 772's overdeveloped spiral arm, which stretches across toward the left-hand edge of the frame. This extra large arm is due to one of NGC 772's unruly neighbors, the dwarf elliptical galaxy NGC 770. The tidal interactions between NGC 772 and its diminutive companion have distorted and stretched one of the spiral galaxy's arms, giving it the lopsided appearance seen in this image.