Close-up: Galaxy NGC 1511 in Hydrus: A Disruptive Neighbor | Hubble

Close-up: Galaxy NGC 1511 in Hydrus: A Disruptive Neighbor | Hubble

Though interesting to look at, NGC 1511 is one galaxy you might not want for a neighbor. As this Hubble picture shows, NGC 1511 is a peculiar spiral galaxy located roughly 50 million light-years away in the constellation Hydrus. Like many galaxies, NGC 1511 does not travel through space alone. Instead, it has a pair of small galactic companions called NGC 1511A and NGC 1511B, that lie outside the frame of this Hubble image. NGC 1511B is situated closest to NGC 1511, and the two galaxies have apparently clashed in the past; a narrow strand of hydrogen gas connects them, and NGC 1511B has been stretched and distorted by the encounter. Researchers have even found evidence that NGC 1511 once had another small companion galaxy that it has disrupted entirely!

These disruptions have an impact on NGC 1511, too. The galaxy is experiencing a burst of star formation, and its disc features strange loops and plumes that could point to past interactions with its neighboring galaxies. Researchers will use Hubble’s keen observations of NGC 1511 to study star clusters embedded within its dusty gas, seeking to understand how matter is cycled from interstellar clouds to stars and back to clouds once again.

Image Description: A spiral galaxy, tilted away so that it is seen mostly from the edge. The disc of the galaxy glows blue from its center, due to younger stars in the spiral arms. There are large and small patches of gas, glowing in red and pink colors, where new stars are forming. Webs of dark dust are spread over the disc.

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, D. Thilker

Duration: 30 seconds
Release Date: Nov. 14, 2025

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