NGC 1614, an eccentric-shaped galaxy exposed to activity, captured here by the NASA / ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Credit: ESA / Hubble & NASA, A. Adamo
NGC 1614, here taken prisoner by the NASA/ ESA Hubble Space Telescope, is an eccentric-shaped galaxy exposed to activity. The galaxy remains approximately 200 million light-years from Earth and is located in the southern constellation Eridanus (The River).
NGC 1614 is the result of a past galactic fusion that made its peculiar appearance. The cosmic collision also drove a turbulent stream of interstellar gas out of the smaller of the two galaxies involved in the core of the larger, resulting in a burst of star formation that began at the core. and gradually spread outward through the galaxy.
Because of its turbulent past and present appearance, astronomers classify NGC 1614 as a peculiar galaxy, a starburst galaxy, and a luminous infrared galaxy. Luminous infrared galaxies are among the most luminous objects in the local Universe – and NGC 1614 is, in fact, the second brightest galaxy in 250 million light-years.
