Journey to The Meathook Galaxy in Volans | MPG/ESO Telescope

Journey to The Meathook Galaxy in Volans | MPG/ESO Telescope

This zoom sequence starts with a wide view of the spectacular southern sky, including the Milky Way and the Southern Cross (Crux). It then closes in on the little-known constellation of Volans (The Flying Fish). The final sequence shows the Meathook Galaxy (NGC 2442) in an image taken by the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope at La Silla, Chile.

This view includes the entire galaxy and the surrounding sky, and clearly shows the asymmetric spiral arms. The longer of the two arms has intense star formation. It is visible here as a pink glow. This is due to the radiation of young stars ionizing the gas they form from. The asymmetric shape and star formation are thought to be caused by tidal disruptions from a near-miss with another galaxy at in its history.

Learn more about the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope:
https://www.eso.org/public/teles-instr/lasilla/mpg22/

Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)
Duration: 53 seconds
Release Date: May 4, 2011

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