Spiral galaxy NGC 4622 in Centaurus - Spiral galaxy NGC 4622 in Centaurus - The...

Spiral galaxy NGC 4622 in Centaurus - Spiral galaxy NGC 4622 in Centaurus - The spiral galaxy NGC 4622 is located 111 million light years ago in the southern constellation of Centaurus. The image obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope in May 2001 shows regions filled with new stars in blue. Astronomers have observed that, unlike other known spiral galaxies, it is the outer arms of this galaxy that rotate the whole, rotating in the same direction as the center; moreover, an inner arm of the galaxy would rotate in the opposite direction. A small galaxy absorbed by NGC 4622 could be responsible for this anomaly. NGC 4622 resides 111 million light - years away in the constellation Centaurus. The image taken in May 2001 with Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 shows NGC 4622 and its outer pair of winding arms full of new stars (shown in blue). Astronomers are puzzled by the clockwise rotation because of the direction the outer spiral arms are pointing. Most spiral galaxies have arms of gas and stars that trail behind as they turn. But this galaxy has two “” leading””” outer arms that point toward the direction of the galaxy's clockwise rotation. To add to the conundrum, NGC 4622 also has a “” trailing”” inner arm that is wrapped around the galaxy in the opposite direction it is rotating. NGC 4622 is a rare example of a spiral galaxy with arms pointing in opposite directions. Astronomers suspect that NGC 4622 interacted with another galaxy. Its two outer arms are lopsided, meaning that something disturbed it. The Hubble image suggests that NGC 4622 consumed a small companion galaxy