The Hubble Space Telescope has captured a spiral galaxy under the “ram pressure” inside a massive cluster of galaxies.
- What it is: The spiral galaxy IC 3225
- Where it is: 100 million light-years away, in the constellation Virgo
- When it was shared: Oct. 21, 2024
What makes it so unique: It appears as though the spiral galaxy IC 3225 is headed somewhere. It may initially appear to be just another massive spiral galaxy, like our Milky Way, with its dim dust strewn throughout and bright, burning core. However, IC 3225 is not doing well. There is a spiral arm full of fresh blue stars on one side, and a more dispersed, starless, and overall chaotic area that resembles a tail on the other.
IC 3225 appears to have been launched from a cannon, hurtling through space like a comet with a tail of gas streaming behind it, according to NASA, which recently revealed this image captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. What became of IC 3225, then?
Despite the fact that a galaxy is merely an island of stars, galaxies are nearly usually found in groups, which may include thousands of “islands” pulled together by gravity.
The Virgo Cluster consists of almost 1,300 galaxies, including IC 3225. It is a group of galaxies that are gravitationally bonded and centered in the Virgo constellation.
Astronomers refer to the “intracluster medium,” which is a rich field of hot gas that flows between galaxies in the Virgo Cluster because of its extreme density, according to Swinburne University. The problem is that galaxies “ramm” through the intracluster medium as they rapidly orbit the Virgo Cluster’s center because to its enormous mass. As a result, the galaxies experience “ram pressure” inside of them, which causes their gas to be stripped away. That eventually happened to IC 3225, which scientists believe has since shifted away from the center of the cluster.
With a leading edge of the star-forming area and a somewhat stretched-looking back end, the debris is visible. Another explanation for the pandemonium, according to NASA, is that IC 3225 was stretched out by gravitational forces after becoming warped when it came too close to another galaxy.
Surprisingly, over 100 different clusters of galaxies circle the 1,300 galaxies that make up the Virgo Cluster. They are collectively referred to as the 100 million light-year-wide Virgo Supercluster (or Local Supercluster) of galaxy groups. Laniakea, which means “immense heaven” in Hawaiian, is a bigger structure of galaxy clusters that includes the Virgo Supercluster. According to Space.com, there are roughly 100,000 galaxies in it.