The US National Aeronautics and Space Administration, NASA, unveiled a snapshot of a lenticular galaxy, located approximately 80 million light-years away from our planet, within the Camelopardalis Constellation, popularly known as the constellation of the Giraffe.
The picture captured by the Hubble Space Telescope depicts the galaxy NGC 2655 looking like a misty nebulous. The galaxy showed neither distinct arms which are observed in regular spiral galaxies nor a red lump characterizing the elliptical galaxies.
NGC 2655 is a lenticular galaxy and a Seyfert galaxy, at the same time
Lenticular galaxies are situated somewhere in the range between the spiral galaxy type and the elliptical galaxy type. A lenticular galaxy, however, is shaped like a disc but is not making up a great number of new stars, instead, is just housing groups of old ones, like the elliptical galaxy itself.
In accordance with NASA, the core of the NGC 2655 lenticular galaxy is extremely bright, which qualifies this space object for another classification, as well, namely, as a Seyfert galaxy
A Seyfert galaxy is a sort of dynamic galaxy with powerful emission patterns and features.
The extreme brightness of the NGC 2655 lenticular galaxy depicted by Hubble Space Telescope is due to a supermassive black hole
The scientists think that this extreme brightness is produced as the matter is drawn away to the accretion disk of a supermassive black hole which is situated in the middle of the NGC 2655 galaxy.
In opposition, the exterior architecture of the disc of the NGC 2655 appears quieter but possesses an odd configuration. The complicated dynamism of the galaxy’s gases indicates that this galaxy has had a tumultuous history, supposedly, like collisions and mergers with other galaxies.
The Camelopardalis Constellation, popularly known as the constellation of the Giraffe, includes the Kemble’s Cascade asterism (a pattern formed by unrelated stars), the renowned Starburst Galaxy (NGC 2146), and the wide cluster NGC 1502. Now, the Hubble Space Telescope added more elegance to this constellation with the stunning picture of the NGC 2655 lenticular galaxy.