The Lord of the Rings: Subaru telescope captures an unusual galaxy

Astronomers working with the Subaru telescope have published a picture showing a very unusual galaxy NGC 660. It is unique in that it has a polar ring.

According to astronomers, NGC 660 got the ring about a billion years ago when it collided with another galaxy and captured its matter. Over time, this matter was able to "connect" and form a rotating ring, writes Universe space tech.

The galaxy NGC 660 is located at a distance of 45 million light years from Earth in the direction of the constellation Pisces. The main "attraction" of the galaxy is an extended ring structure surrounding its disk at almost right angles. Its diameter is 50,000 light years, which is larger than the diameter of the galaxy itself.

The ring surrounding NGC 660 also contains much more gas than the galactic disk. This is clearly demonstrated by its blue color, the source of which is many areas of active star formation. The polar ring contains many red and blue supergiants. The youngest stars are only a few million years old. The dark bands in the ring and the galactic disk overlap, further emphasizing the complex structure of NGC 660.

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