Young Elliptical Galaxy Spotted With Hubble

First Posted: Nov 23, 2015 12:38 PM EST
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Researchers have detected a young elliptical galaxy using NASA/ESA's Hubble Space Telescope. NGC 3610 was found at the center of the Hubble image, where it was surrounded by a number of other galaxies, according to a news release.

Elliptical galaxies are known for their smooth and ellipsoidal shape and their plain brightness. Elliptical galaxies have a three-dimensional features, have almost no structure, and some of their stars orbit around the center.

In the recent Hubble image, NGC 3610 was seen to be surrounded by a number of distorted galaxies, spiral galaxies, elliptical galaxies and galaxies with a bar in their central regions. Most of the bright dots in the images was a galaxy, according to the researchers.

NGC 3610 is an elliptical galaxy that is found in the constellation Ursa Major. NGC 3610 is located approximately 80 million light years away and it was discovered by William Herschel in 1793. After its discovery, researchers found that NGC 3610 contained a disk, which was quite unusual for an elliptical galaxy, since disks are a central feature of spiral galaxies.

Hubble spotted NGC 3610 as it was one of the most vibrant objects in the image. NGC 3610's disk was exceptionally bright. NGC 3610's unique shape is due to its formation history. Elliptical galaxies are usually formed when two or more disk galaxies are merged. When these mergers take place, the original galaxies' internal structure is demolished.

NGC 3610 depicts some amount of structural brightness, which indicates that this galaxy was formed not too long ago. Researchers claim that NGC 3610 was formed about four billion years ago. NGC 3610 is essential galaxy that is enabling researchers to study the origin and development of elliptical galaxies.

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