Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have captured an amazing new photo of the lenticular galaxy NGC 6684.
NGC 6684 is located approximately 44 million light-years from Earth in the constellation of Pavo.
This lenticular galaxy is situated south of the celestial equator and, as such, it is more visible from the southern hemisphere.
Also known as ESO 104-16 or LEDA 62453, it was first spotted on June 8, 1836 by the English astronomer John Herschel.
“Lenticular galaxies like NGC 6684 possess a large disk but lack the prominent spiral arms of galaxies like the Andromeda galaxy,” Hubble astronomers said.
“This leaves them somewhere between elliptical galaxies and spiral galaxies, and lends these galaxies a diffuse, ghostly experience.”
“NGC 6684 also lacks the dark dust lanes that thread through other galaxies, adding to its spectral, insubstantial appearance.”
The color image of NGC 6684 was made from separate exposures taken in the visible and near-infrared regions of the spectrum with Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS).
Two filters were used to sample various wavelengths.
The color results from assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter.
The data in this image were captured during a census of the nearby Universe entitled Every Known Nearby Galaxy which aims to observe all galaxies within 10 megaparsecs (32.6 million light-years) that the telescope has not already visited.
Before this program began Hubble had observed roughly 75% of these nearby galaxies, and completing this census will reveal insights into the stars making up a wide variety of galaxies, in a wide variety of environments.
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