Unraveling NGC 3169

Posted on May 24, 2024  •  1 minutes  • 120 words

图文来源自：nasa. copyright: Christophe Vergnes

Spiral galaxy NGC 3169 looks to be unraveling like a ball of cosmicyarn.It lies some 70 million light-years away,bright star Regulus toward the faint constellation Sextans.Wound up spiral arms are pulled out into sweeping tidaltails as NGC 3169 (left) and neighboring NGC 3166.Eventually the galaxies will merge into one,a common fate even for bright galaxies in.Drawn out stellar arcs and plumes are clearindications of the ongoing gravitational interactionsacross the deep and colorful photo.spans about 20 arc minutes or about 400,000 light-yearsat the group’s estimated distance, and includes smaller, bluish NGC 3165to the right.NGC 3169 is also known to shine across the spectrum fromradio to X-rays,an active galactic nucleus that is thesite of a supermassive black hole.