Using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have captured an incredible image of the dwarf galaxy NGC 1140.
This image shows the dwarf galaxy NGC 1140. Image credit: ESA / Hubble / NASA.
NGC 1140, also known as PGC 10966, is located in the constellation Eridanus, 58.5 million light-years from Earth.
It was discovered on 22 November 1785 by the German-born British astronomer William Herschel.
The dwarf galaxy has an irregular form and is undergoing what is known as a starburst.
Despite being almost 10 times smaller than our Milky Way Galaxy it is creating stars at about the same rate, with the equivalent of one star the size of the Sun being created per year.
Galaxies like NGC 1140 – small, starbursting and containing large amounts of primordial gas – are of particular interest to scientists. Their composition makes them similar to the intensely star-forming galaxies in the early Universe.
And these early Universe galaxies were the building blocks of present-day large galaxies like our own Galaxy.
But, as they are so far away these early Universe galaxies are harder to study so these closer starburst galaxies are a good substitute for learning more about galaxy evolution.
The vigorous star formation will have a very destructive effect on NGC 1140 in its future.
When the larger stars in the galaxy die, and explode as supernovae, gas is blown into space and may easily escape the gravitational pull of the galaxy.
The ejection of gas from NGC 1140 means it is throwing out its potential for future stars as this gas is one of the building blocks of star formation.
This image of NGC 1140 was created using data from both Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys and the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2.
