From: rhinoceros (rhinoceros@freemail.gr)
Date: Mon Sep 09 2002 - 07:44:11 MDT
I was expecting Walter would post this first but I guess he missed it. In the extropy.org BBS they have already been discussing whether it could have been engineered, among other things.
A Wheel within a Wheel
http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/pr/2002/21/
A nearly perfect ring of hot, blue stars pinwheels about the yellow nucleus of an unusual galaxy known as Hoag's Object. This image from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope captures a face-on view of the galaxy's ring of stars, revealing more detail than any existing photo of this object. The entire galaxy is about 120,000 light-years wide, which is slightly larger than our Milky Way Galaxy. The blue ring, which is dominated by clusters of young, massive stars, contrasts sharply with the yellow nucleus of mostly older stars. What appears to be a "gap" separating the two stellar populations may actually contain some star clusters that are almost too faint to see. Curiously, an object that bears an uncanny resemblance to Hoag's Object can be seen in the gap at the one o'clock position. The object is probably a background ring galaxy.
http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/pr/2002/21/prc/0221x.jpg
(or bigger here)
http://imgsrc.stsci.edu/op/pubinfo/pr/2002/21/prc/0221w.jpg
Image Credit: NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
Acknowledgment: Ray A. Lucas (STScI/AURA)
---- This message was posted by rhinoceros to the Virus 2002 board on Church of Virus BBS. <http://virus.lucifer.com/bbs/index.php?board=51;action=display;threadid=26443>
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