When NASA astronauts lifted the Hubble Space Telescope out of the cargo bay of Space Shuttle Discovery and launched it into orbit in 1990, things were considerably different. There were only 5.3 billion people on the planet, the Cold War was coming to an end, and the World Wide Web had just gone live.
The former Soviet Union has now vanished, to be replaced by a smaller but no less powerful Russia. The number of people on Earth has increased to 8.1 billion. In modern life, the internet is a need. We also have the JWST, a brand-new, more potent space telescope.
However, as this most recent image demonstrates, the Hubble keeps producing.
About 60 million light-years separate us from the lenticular galaxy NGC 4753. In between spiral and elliptical galaxies are lenticular galaxies. Their spiral arms are only ill-defined, but they have large-scale disks. Due to its gas exhaustion, like to other lenticulars, NGC 4753 exhibits relatively little star formation. They are comparable to elliptical galaxies because they are primarily composed of older stars.
NGC 4753 is distinguished from other lenticulars by the dust lanes encircling its nucleus. Due to interactions with other galaxies and the intergalactic medium, astronomers believe that spirals evolve into lenticulars in crowded environments. NGC 4753 is situated in a low-density environment, nevertheless. Astronomers use it as a target to test their ideas of galaxy creation and evolution because of its environment and intricate structure.
NGC 4753’s fascinating complexity is shown in this sharpest-ever Hubble view, showcasing the space telescope’s remarkable resolving power.
The peculiar structure of NGC 4763 is the product of a merger with a dwarf galaxy some 1.3 billion years ago. The NOIRlab video that is below explains what transpired.
In addition, NGC 4753 is home to two Type 1a supernovae, which are significant because they shed light on the Universe’s expansion for scientists. As standard candles, they fill a crucial space on the cosmic distance ladder.
Though they may not be unusual, galaxies such as NGC 4753 can be identified mostly by their viewing angle. We can clearly see the galaxy’s lenticular shape in this edge-on image. It’s possible that we’re viewing similar ones from vantage points that mask their true character.
This is a model that shows NGC 4753 from several angles. The angle of the line of sight to the equatorial plane of the galaxy varies in steps of 10° from left to right and top to bottom. While galaxies resembling NGC 4753 might not be uncommon, only specific viewing angles make it simple to recognize a heavily twisted disk. An infographic based on Figure 7 from a research article published in 1992 is shown.
This is a model that shows NGC 4753 from several angles. The angle of the line of sight to the equatorial plane of the galaxy varies in steps of 10° from left to right and top to bottom. While galaxies resembling NGC 4753 might not be uncommon, only specific viewing angles make it simple to recognize a heavily twisted disk. An infographic based on Figure 7 from a research article published in 1992 is shown.