Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have photographed the central part of a spiral galaxy called NGC 4689.
This Hubble image shows the central region of the spiral galaxy NGC 4689. 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). It is based on data obtained through three filters. The color results from assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble.
NGC 4689 is located approximately 52 million light-years away in the constellation of Coma Berenices.
Also known as LEDA 43186 or UGC 7965, this galaxy was discovered by the German-born British astronomer William Herschel on April 12, 1784.
NGC 4689 is a member of the Virgo Cluster, a group of more than 2,000 galaxies.
The galaxy is inclined at an angle of 36 degrees which means that it is seen almost face-on.
“NGC 4689 appears less like a majestic spiral and more like a smudged fingerprint on the sky,” Hubble astronomers said.
“No matter how good the image quality, there is little contrast between the spiraling arms of stars, gas, and dust, and the less dense areas in between.”
“This is because NGC 4689 is something known as an anemic galaxy, a galaxy that contains only quite small quantities of the raw materials needed to produce stars,” they added.
“This means that star formation is quelled in NGC 4689, and the pinwheeling, bustling arms are less bright than those belonging to other Hubble muses.”
“Despite this subtlety when compared to its brash, spotlight-stealing relatives, NGC 4689 retains an otherworldly charm, its delicately glowing material standing out subtly from the surrounding darkness of space.”
