Question: American space agency NASA gas released the image of the Lost Galaxy. In which of the following constellation this galaxy is located?
a) Virgo
b) Libra
c) Aries
d) Leo
Answer: (a)
Related Facts:
- Recently America’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has released the image of a galaxy popularly known as the Lost Galaxy.
- The image of this galaxy has been captured by NASA using The Hubble Space Telescope.
- Hubble obtained the stunning image of Lost Galaxy when it was focused in the direction of the Virgo constellation.
- The Lost Galaxy which is also known as NGC 4535 is the galaxy is one of the largest of the 2000 or so galaxies in the Virgo cluster.
- It is located about 50 million light-years from the Earth.
- This galaxy was studied as part of the Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby GalaxieS (PHANGS) survey
- PHANGS survey aims to clarify many of the links between cold gas clouds, star formation, and the overall shape and other properties of galaxies.
- NASA as a part of this survey, studying 38 such spiral galaxies, which are located within 75 million light-years of Earth.
- As per NASA, in the present times, The Lost Galaxy is not that difficult to find, specifically for the floating observatories like Hubble.
- The long and elegant arms of the galaxy make it a prime candidate for studying the structure of the spiral galaxies.
- Discovery:-
- In the 1950s, an amateur astronomer Leland S. Copeland first discovered this galaxy.
- Shape and constituent Stars:-
- The bright colors in this image aren’t just beautiful to look at, as they actually tell us about the population of stars within this barred spiral galaxy.
- The bright blue-ish colors, seen nestled amongst NGC 4535’s long, spiral arms, indicate the presence of a greater number of younger and hotter stars.
- The central area of this galaxy is populated with the stars which are older and cooler and this is indicated by yellower tones of this galaxy’s bulge.
- In the terms of shape, the Lost Galaxy of Copeland not so different from our own Milky Way.
- Images captured by Hubble Telescope show the haze that clouded the lost galaxy of, vanishes to reveal a stunning vibrant sea of stars that is.
- Like our own Milky Way, the Lost Galaxy is a barred spiral galaxy. It is a vast swirl of stars with a distinct bar structure at its centre.
- Scientists in NASA have told that the colors of the stars present in the galaxy (NGC 4535) can present valuable information about the galaxy’s history.
By – Rajesh Tripathi
Links:-
https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/2021/hubble-takes-portrait-of-the-lost-galaxy
https://www.livescience.com/lost-galaxy-nasa-hubble-image.html