NGC 4631：鲸鱼星系
(原标题: NGC 4631: The Whale Galaxy)
2022-10-06
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ngc4631是一个巨大美丽的螺旋星系。从侧面看，它距离我们只有2500万光年，位于训练有素的北天琴座。这个星系稍微扭曲的楔形形状让一些人觉得它是一条宇宙鲱鱼，而另一些人则认为它是一个流行的绰号——鲸鱼星系。不管怎样，它的大小和我们的银河系差不多。在这张清晰的彩色图像中，星系的黄色核心，黑暗的尘埃云，明亮的蓝色星团和红色的恒星形成区域很容易被发现。一个伴星系，小椭圆星系ngc4627就在鲸鱼星系的上方。在深度图像中看到的暗淡的星流是在遥远的过去与鲸鱼多次相遇而中断的小伴星星系的残余物。鲸鱼星系也被认为喷出了一个在x射线中发光的热气晕。
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NGC 4631 is a big beautiful spiral galaxy. Seen edge-on, it lies only 25 million light-years away in the well-trained northern constellation Canes Venatici. The galaxy's slightly distorted wedge shape suggests to some a cosmic herring and to others its popular moniker, The Whale Galaxy. Either way, it is similar in size to our own Milky Way. In this sharp color image, the galaxy's yellowish core, dark dust clouds, bright blue star clusters, and red star forming regions are easy to spot. A companion galaxy, the small elliptical NGC 4627 is just above the Whale Galaxy. Faint star streams seen in deep images are the remnants of small companion galaxies disrupted by repeated encounters with the Whale in the distant past. The Whale Galaxy is also known to have spouted a halo of hot gas glowing in X-rays.
© Michael Sherick