Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have obtained a surprising new perspective of the intermediate spiral galaxy Messier 90.
This Hubble image shows Messier 90, an intermediate spiral galaxy located 53.8 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. Image credits: NASA / ESA / Hubble / D. Tilker / J. Lee / PHANGS-HST team.
Messier 90 is located approximately 53.8 million light years away in the constellation Virgo.
This spiral galaxy, also known as M90 or NGC 4569, was discovered by French astronomer Charles Messier on March 18, 1781.
Messier 90 is the brightest member of this bunch. Virgo Cluster is a group of about 1,300, sometimes up to 2,000 galaxies.
This galaxy is remarkable, as it is one of the few galaxies that appear to be moving toward the Milky Way, rather than away from it.
“In 2019, images of Messier 90 Hubble's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) was imaged in 1994, shortly after the camera was installed,” Hubble astronomers said in a statement.
“That image has a distinctive stair-step pattern due to the layout of WFPC2's sensor.”
“WFPC2 was replaced in 2010. wide field camera 3 (WFC3),” they added.
“Hubble used WFC3 in 2019 and again in 2023 when it switched caliber to Messier 90.”
“We processed the resulting data to create this surprising new image, providing a more detailed view of the galaxy's dusty disk, gaseous halo, and bright center.”
“The inner region of the Messier-90 disk is a site of star formation, highlighted here by red H-alpha light from the nebula, which is absent in other parts of the galaxy,” the astronomers said.
“Messier 90 is located within a relatively nearby galaxy in the Virgo cluster, and its orbit followed an orbit close to the cluster's center about 300 million years ago.”
“The gas density in the inner cluster weighed down on Messier 90 like a strong headwind, stripping enormous amounts of gas from the galaxy and creating the diffuse halo we see here around the galaxy.”
“This gas will no longer be available for Messier 90 to form new stars, resulting in its eventual demise as a spiral galaxy.”
“Its trajectory through the Virgo Cluster has accelerated so much that it is on the verge of escaping the cluster altogether, and coincidentally it is moving in our direction. Other galaxies in the Virgo Cluster are also moving in our direction. They have been measured at similar speeds, but in opposite directions.''
“Over billions of years to come, we will get a better view of Messier 90 as it evolves into a lenticular galaxy.”
Source: www.sci.news
