Giant galaxy seen in 3D
Published Date: 4/13/2023
Source: phys.org
Though we live in a vast three-dimensional universe, celestial objects seen through a telescope look flat because everything is so far away. Now for the first time, astronomers have measured the three-dimensional shape of one of the biggest and closest elliptical galaxies to us, M87. This galaxy turns out to be "triaxial," or potato-shaped. This stereo vision was made possible by combining the power of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and the ground-based W. M. Keck Observatory on Maunakea, Hawaii.