The image
of this spiral galaxy – 60 million light-years away but similar to our Milky
Way galaxy – was taken by Janez Potocnik, European Commissioner for Science and Research, during his
official visit to the Very Large Telescope (VLT) on Paranal Mountain in Chile. While many galaxies appear as a flat disc,
NGC 134 is a warped disc that resembles a bent vinyl record album left out too long in the sun.
More than
half of spiral galaxies have some type of warping, including the Milky Way and
its own small warp. Astronomers still have not cracked the mystery behind the
warping effect, but suspect that it might result from interactions or collisions
between galaxies. Such galactic encounters can also produce streams of material
being pulled out from the galaxy, and this image shows NGC 134 appears to have
gas bleeding from the top edge of the disc.
The red features
decorating NGC 134's spiral arms represent glowing clouds of hot, gaseous star
nurseries known as HII regions. The galaxy also has dark lanes of dust across
its disc, which partially obscures its starlight.
– ESO and SPACE.com Staff
Credit: ESO, Janez Potocnik
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