This NASA Hubble Space Telescope observation finds the large spiral galaxy, NGC 3227, engaged in a rough gravitational dance with its companion, the elliptical galaxy NGC 3226. NGC 3227 is a Seyfert galaxy, a type of galaxy with a very active nucleus. As matter spirals into the black hole, it releases large quantities of radiation along the black holes axis of rotation, providing the galaxy its active nucleus.
By NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center
May 28, 2022
To get more information about this interesting twosome, see: A New Feature in the Evolution of Galaxies.
Hubble Space Telescope image of the big spiral galaxy NGC 3227 on the left and the elliptical galaxy NGC 3226 on the. Credit: NASA, ESA, and H. Ford (Johns Hopkins University); Image Processing: G. Kober (NASA Goddard/Catholic University of America).
This NASA Hubble Space Telescope observation discovers the large spiral galaxy, NGC 3227, engaged in a rough gravitational dance with its buddy, the elliptical galaxy NGC 3226. The twosome– collectively understood as Arp 94– is reasonably nearby, between 50 and 60 million light-years away from Earth toward the constellation Leo, the Lion. A close appearance at the location between the 2 galaxies, reveals faint tidal streams of gas and dust that connect the set in their gravitational dance.
NGC 3227 is a Seyfert galaxy, a kind of galaxy with a very active nucleus. Seyfert galaxies hold supermassive great voids at their cores. As matter spirals into the black hole, it launches large quantities of radiation along the great voids axis of rotation, providing the galaxy its active nucleus.
The upper left, black and white image taken by the Digital Sky Survey (DSS) details the part of NGC 3227 and 3226 that the Hubble Space Telescope imaged. The lower left Hubble image highlights the active core of NGC 3227 and showcases its dark dust lanes and bright star-forming regions. Credit: NASA, ESA, H. Ford (Johns Hopkins University), and DSS; Image Processing: G. Kober (NASA Goddard/Catholic University of America).
Hubble looked at NGC 3227 and 3226 as part of a program to determine black hole masses by observing the dynamics of gas at the centers of bright cluster galaxies. The color red in this image represents both visible red and near-infrared wavelengths of light.
