The 34-year-old Hubble Space Telescope captured an image of an unusual galaxy called NGC 4694. Most galaxies are either spiral or elliptical in shape, but this one is difficult to classify.
NGC 4694 has a smooth, armless disk like an elliptical galaxy, but it still has ongoing star formation in its core, unlike typical ellipticals. It also contains gas and dust like young spiral galaxies. Hubble imagery reveals the dust forms a chaotic structure, indicating a past disturbance.
Analysis showed NGC 4694 engaged in a collision with a nearby smaller dwarf galaxy called VCC 2062. The larger galaxy is accreting gas stripped from the dwarf during the violent interaction. This event gave NGC 4694 its peculiar morphology and star formation activity.
Though lacking defining spiral arms, NGC 4694’s gas and young stars place it in a category called lenticular galaxies. Some galaxies are harder to neatly classify than just spiral or elliptical. Even after 34 years, Hubble continues to provide the clear views needed to understand complex objects like this unusual galaxy.
Source: digitalcameraworld
