Copyright:Simone Curzi
中文翻譯:
有一個漂亮的螺旋星系叫做NGC 3169，它看起來就像一團宇宙的毛線在慢慢解開。這個星系離我們有七千萬光年遠，位於亮星Regulus的南邊，朝向淡淡的星座Sextans。它的螺旋臂被拉伸成長長的潮汐尾巴，這是因為NGC 3169（在左邊）和鄰近的NGC 3166在一起互相影響。它們最終會合併成一個星系，這是許多星系都會經歷的命運。從這張色彩繽紛的星系合影中，我們可以清楚地看到那些延伸的星星亞光弧和噴流，這都是它們在互相吸引的證據。這個望遠鏡的圖片範圍大約為20弧分鐘，約合40萬光年，還包含了在右邊的藍色小星系NGC 3165。NGC 3169是一個光芒四射的星系，從無線電到X射線都有它的身影，它的中心還藏著一個活躍的星系核，那裡有一個超大質量黑洞。
原文:
Spiral galaxy NGC 3169 looks to be unraveling like a ball of cosmic yarn. It lies some 70 million light-years away, south of bright star Regulus toward the faint constellation Sextans. Wound up spiral arms are pulled out into sweeping tidal tails as NGC 3169 (left) and neighboring NGC 3166 interact gravitationally. Eventually the galaxies will merge into one, a common fate even for bright galaxies in the local universe. Drawn out stellar arcs and plumes are clear indications of the ongoing gravitational interactions across the deep and colorful galaxy group photo. The telescopic frame spans about 20 arc minutes or about 400,000 light-years at the group’s estimated distance, and includes smaller, bluish NGC 3165 to the right. NGC 3169 is also known to shine across the spectrum from radio to X-rays, harboring an active galactic nucleus that is the site of a supermassive black hole.
來源:NASA每日圖片
