Knowra Cartwheel Galaxy Cartwheel Galaxy The Cartwheel Galaxy is a ring galaxy about 500 million light-years away. Its bright outer ring formed after a smaller galaxy passed through its center.
Ring galaxy : A galaxy whose stars, gas, and dust form a prominent ring around its center. The Cartwheel is a striking example of this galaxy shape.
Cartwheel Galaxy outer ring : The Cartwheel Galaxy’s luminous, expanding ring of stars, gas, and star-forming regions. This bright feature records the outward-moving disturbance at the heart of the galaxy’s appearance.
Galaxy : A gravitationally bound system of stars, gas, dust, and dark matter. The Cartwheel is a galaxy whose components were reshaped by a collision.
Hoag's Object : A nearly face-on ring galaxy with a detached ring surrounding a central concentration of stars. Its detached ring contrasts with the Cartwheel’s collision-driven, outward-moving ring structure.
Galaxy collision : An encounter in which galaxies interact gravitationally, sometimes merging or passing through one another. A smaller galaxy crossed the Cartwheel’s center and launched the ring-forming disturbance.
Cartwheel Galaxy inner ring : A smaller ring-like structure surrounding the Cartwheel Galaxy’s central region. Its inner structure complements the prominent outer ring produced by the collision.
Stellar population : A group of stars classified by shared properties such as age, chemical composition, or motion. Different stellar populations help distinguish the Cartwheel’s older central regions from its young ring.
AM 0644-741 : A ring galaxy in the constellation Volans, with a luminous ring surrounding a yellow central galaxy. Like the Cartwheel, it is associated with a collision, but its visible structure differs.
Density wave : A propagating region of enhanced density that can compress interstellar gas and trigger star formation. The collision’s outward-moving density wave helps explain the expanding ring.
Hubble Space Telescope : A space observatory launched in 1990 that observes the universe across ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared wavelengths. Hubble images revealed the Cartwheel’s intricate rings and star-forming knots.
Show all 21