70 million light years away lies a galaxy that looks very much like our very own logo. Rectangular shaped galaxies are a rare find, to the extent that this is the first time astronomers have actually seen one. Astronomer Alister Graham from Swinburne University commented “It's one of those things that just makes you smile because it shouldn't exist, or rather you don't expect it to exist. It’s a little like the precarious Leaning Tower of Pisa or the discovery of some exotic new species which at first glance appears to defy the laws of nature.”
We have the Japanese Subaru Telescope and Swinburne astrophysicist Dr Lee Spitler to thank for the image, but there's doubts that this is actually a cube-like galaxy. One explanation is that it's a short cylindrical galaxy viewed from the side.
Duncan Forbes, another professor at Swinburne describes the galaxy as “emerald cut” - the result of two spiral galaxies colliding. “While the pre-existing stars from the initial galaxies were strewn to large orbits creating the emerald cut shape, the gas sank to the mid-plane where it condensed to form new stars and the disc that we have observed.”
We took the opportunity to try the new galaxy on for size...
Snazzy!
Via The Daily Galaxy
