Journey to Lenticular Galaxy NGC 7049 in Indus | Hubble Space Telescope

Journey to Lenticular Galaxy NGC 7049 in Indus | Hubble Space Telescope

Zooming in on NGC 7049, a mysterious looking galaxy with globular clusters dotted throughout its halo. The NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope captured this image of galaxy NGC 7049 in the Indus constellation visible in the southern sky. A family of globular clusters appears as glittering spots dusted around the galaxy halo. Astronomers study the globular clusters in NGC 7049 to learn more about its formation and evolution. The dust lanes, appearing as a lacy web, are dramatically backlit by the millions of stars in the halo of NGC 7049.

Distance from Earth: 100 million light years

A lenticular, meaning “lens-shaped,” galaxy is a type that sits between more familiar spiral galaxies and elliptical galaxies. It is also less common than spirals and ellipticals—partly because these galaxies have a somewhat ambiguous appearance, making it hard to determine if it is a spiral, an elliptical, or something in between. Many of the known lenticular galaxies sport features of both spiral and elliptical. 

Credit: NASA, ESA and W. Harris (McMaster University, Ontario, Canada)

Duration: 56 seconds
Release Date: April 7, 2009

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