ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) at Paranal Observatory in Chile has snapped an amazing new photo of NGC 7098, a spiral galaxy with numerous sets of double features.
This image shows the barred-ring spiral galaxy NGC 7098 (center). An array of distant galaxies are also visible throughout the frame, the most prominent being the small, edge-on, spiral galaxy visible to the left of NGC 7098, known as ESO 048-G007. Image credit: ESO.
NGC 7098, also known as LEDA 67266 and ESO 48-5, is a barred-ring spiral galaxy.
The galaxy is located in the southern constellation of Octans, approximately 110.8 million light-years away.
It was discovered on September 22, 1835, by the British astronomer Sir John Herschel.
One of NGC 7098’s double features is a pair of distinct ring-like structures that loop around the galaxy’s hazy heart.
These are the galaxy’s spiral arms, which have wound themselves around its luminous core.
The central region hosts a second double feature: a double bar.
NGC 7098 has also developed features known as ansae, visible as small, bright streaks at each end of the central region.
Ansae are visible areas of overdensity — they commonly take looping, linear, or circular shapes, and can be found at the extremities of planetary ring systems, in nebulous clouds, and, as is the case with NGC 7098, in parts of galaxies that are packed to the brim with stars.
This new image of NGC 7098 is made up of observations from VLT’s FOcal Reducer and low dispersion Spectrograph 2 (FORS2) instrument in the optical part of the spectrum. It is based on data obtained through four filters.
