- The Hubble Space Telescope has captured a glorious image of a galaxy with a very unusual shape.
- The so-called “Meathook galaxy” was home to a large supernova explosion that was observed just a few years ago.
- Hubble continues to capture unusual images of the cosmos, though it has been in service for more than three decades now.
Our home galaxy, The Milky Way, is thought to be a relatively run-of-the-mill spiral galaxy. It has long, curved ‘arms’ and a center full of activity. It is thought that a supermassive black hole is hidden, which scientists think is common for many galaxies. The galaxy named NGC 2442 is probably not off-the-mill, and as Hubble reveals in a beautiful new photo, it’s a real weirdo.
The galaxy is incredibly asymmetric, resembling a giant hook of sorts. It is this unique form that has led astronomers to call it the “Meathook Galaxy”. It is also home to a recent supernova explosion, making it of special interest to scientists.
Supernovae occur when a star of a certain mass dies. In the case of NGC 2442, NASA believes that a binary pair of stars was responsible for the explosion, causing one of the stars to see constant material from its fellow star.
“This galaxy was hosting a supernova explosion that erupted in March 2015, known as SN 2015F, which was created by a white dwarf star,” NASA said in a blockbuster. ‘The white dwarf was part of a binary galaxy and siphoned mass of his companion, eventually became too greedy and took on more than he could handle. This unbalanced the star and triggered running nuclear fusion that eventually led to an intensely violent supernova explosion. The supernova shone brightly for a while and was easily visible from Earth through even a small telescope until centuries later. ‘
The supernova explosion eventually erupted a bit, but as we have learned with observations of other supernova explosions, they can tend to hang for a long time.
As for the galaxy itself, Hubble has managed to capture the most glorious details. We can see the brightly lit center that is surrounded by star-forming regions and masses of dust and gas that appear as dark spatulas that line its edges. It does not really look like a ‘normal’ galaxy, but when it comes to structures like these in space, ‘normal’ is always a moving target.
The Hubble Space Telescope has been in operation for 30 years now, which is an achievement in itself. A few trips to upgrade and repair some problems allowed the telescope to pass through one of NASA’s most important tools for observing the cosmos. If things continue to go well, the telescope is expected to last through the 2030s and maybe even into the 2040s.
Mike Wehner has reported on technology and video games for the past decade, covering breaking news and trends in VR, wearables, smartphones, and future tech. Most recently, Mike served as Tech Editor at The Daily Dot, and has been featured in USA Today, Time.com, and countless other web and print stores. His love for reporting is second only to his game addiction.
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