Galaxy IC 2051 is what we see a distinctive spiral galaxy , certainly not one of those peculiar or extreme object in astronomy with enormous supermassive bootleg holes or unbelievable star constitution events . But even in its “ mediocrity ” , not much dissimilar from the middle soil occupy by our own galaxy , IC 2051 shine and sparkle in this breathless portrait acquire by the Hubble Space Telescope .
The galaxy is more or less 85 million light - years from Earth , and is located in the southern configuration of Mensa . The picture was snap on December 16 by Hubble as part of a cogitation on coltsfoot bulges , how they work , and why there is such a variety of shape within spiral galaxy , NASA break . In general terms , spiral galaxies can be better down in a handful of components . There is the gloriole , which is a large and faint-hearted globose region around the organic structure of the primary galaxy , and the platter , which is where the tortuous voluted arms are located .
At the center of the disk , we have the bulge . And at the bulge ’s center , in almost all spiral galaxies , there is a supermassive black hole . Evidence in the last few years shew that bulges are not just heavyset than the phonograph recording , they have complex shapes , and new detailed observations suggest that late broad categories used to distinguish these jut hid the true nature of these social system .
Bulges appear to have composite morphology . They are not simply disk - corresponding , or spherical , or even boxy . They can be a mixture of all three and the variation in combinations produce the incredible diverseness that view of spiral galaxies have been reporting .
But it ’s not just about how they attend . swelling , just like the spiral arms , change over the life of galaxies and these changes are believed to be important when it comes to the evolution of a wandflower as a whole . And for this understanding , astronomers are paying particular aid to the essence of galaxies such as IC 2051 .
Intelligence Community 2051 has another similarity with the Milky Way , it is believed to be a barricaded coil just like our own box of the macrocosm . Its bulge is not overly global but boxier . Bars in spirals might alter in size and form over meter , and this could also impact the ontogeny of the supermassive smuggled golf hole .
United States Intelligence Community 2051 in its full glory . ESA / Hubble & NASA , P. Erwin et al .
