The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has produced an outstanding image of the beautiful spiral galaxy NGC 4680.
This Hubble image shows the spiral galaxy NGC 4680. The color image was made from separate exposures taken in the visible and infrared regions of the spectrum with Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). Four filters were used to sample various wavelengths. The color results from assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / Riess et al.
NGC 4680 is located approximately 98 million light-years away in the constellation of Virgo.
The galaxy was discovered by the English astronomer John Herschel on May 27, 1835.
Otherwise known as IRAS 12443-1121 or LEDA 43118, it has a diameter of 45,000 light-years.
“NGC 4680 is actually a rather tricky galaxy to classify,” Hubble astronomers said.
“It is sometimes referred to as a spiral galaxy, but it is also sometimes classified as a lenticular galaxy.”
“Lenticular galaxies fall somewhere in between spiral galaxies and elliptical galaxies,” they added.
“Whilst NGC 4680 does have distinguishable spiral arms, they are not clearly defined, and the tip of one arm appears very diffuse.”
“Galaxies are not static, and their morphologies — and therefore their classifications — vary throughout their lifetimes.”
“Spiral galaxies are thought to evolve into elliptical galaxies, most likely by merging with one another, causing them to lose their distinctive spiral structures.”
In 1997, a Type Ia supernova called SN 1997bp was observed in NGC 4680.
“NGC 4680 enjoyed a wave of attention in 1997, as it played host to SN 1997bp,” the researchers said.
“Amazingly, the supernova was identified by an Australian amateur astronomer named Robert Evans, who has identified an extraordinary 42 supernova explosions.”
