A Uniquely Shaped Spiral Galaxy: NGC 1961 in Camelopardalis | Hubble

A Uniquely Shaped Spiral Galaxy: NGC 1961 in Camelopardalis | Hubble

A beautiful but skewed spiral galaxy dazzles in this NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope picture. This galaxy, called Arp 184 or NGC 1961, sits about 190 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation Camelopardalis (The Giraffe). 

The name Arp 184 comes from the Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies that was compiled by astronomer Halton Arp in 1966. The 338 galaxies in the atlas are oddly shaped, tending to be neither entirely elliptical nor entirely spiral-shaped. Many of the galaxies are in the process of interacting with other galaxies, while others are dwarf galaxies without well-defined structures. Arp 184 earned its spot in the catalog thanks to its single broad, star-speckled spiral arm that appears to stretch toward us. The galaxy’s far side sports a few wisps of gas and stars but lacks a similarly impressive spiral arm.

This Hubble image combines data from three Snapshot observing programs that are composed of short observations that can be slotted into time gaps between other proposals. One of the three programs targeted Arp 184 for its peculiar appearance. This program surveyed galaxies listed in the Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies as well as A Catalogue of Southern Peculiar Galaxies and Associations, a similar catalog compiled by Halton Arp and Barry Madore.

The remaining two programs were designed to check up on the aftermath of fleeting astronomical events like supernovae and tidal disruption events—when a star is ripped apart after wandering too close to a supermassive black hole. Since Arp 184 has hosted four known supernovae in the past three decades, it is a rich target for a supernova hunt.

Image Description: A spiral galaxy seen at a skewed angle. Its center is a bright spot radiating light. A thick, stormy disc of material surrounds this with swirling strands of dark dust and bright spots of star formation strewn through the disc. A large spiral arm extends from the disc towards the viewer. Foreground stars are visible atop the galaxy.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Dalcanton, R. J. Foley (UC Santa Cruz), C. Kilpatrick
Release Date: April 28, 2025

#NASA #ESA #Astronomy #Space #Science #Hubble #Hubble35 #NGC1961 #Arp184 #Camelopardalis #Constellation #Cosmos #Universe #HubbleSpaceTelescope #HST #GSFC #STScI #UnitedStates #Europe #STEM #Education