Posted by Alex Salamanca
Our universe is both massive and fascinating. While we have a pretty elevated view of ourselves as humans, whenever we peer into the cosmos we really see how small we are in compared to the rest of whats out there. The lowest astronomical figures say there are 100 billion galaxies (that’s 100,000,000,000) in the universe, and our Milky Way is only one. Take the Earth – and multiply it times 17 billion. That’s how many Earth-sized worlds exist only in the Milky Way Galaxy. Multiply that times 100 billion galaxies and you have a massive universe, not even counting the stars and non-Earth-sized planets. Here, we focus on some of the most amazing aspects of our universe: galaxies. The masses of stars, planets, debris, dark matter, and more follow some general patterns but sometimes even they break tradition and amaze us, earning them a spot on this list of the strangest and most bizarre galaxies in the universe.
4 ― NGC 5408
Source: NASA, Image: NASA
Looking more like the colored sprinkles on a birthday cake, NGC 5408 is a remarkable irregular galaxy in the constellation of Centaurus. Though not as well-put-together as spiral or elliptical galaxies, NGC 5408 is equally as strange and interesting due to the ultraluminous X-rays it puts out. Scientists still aren’t sure what cause them but speculate it could be an intermediate mass black hole.
3 ― Whirlpool Galaxy
Source: NASA, Image: NASA
The Whirlpool Galaxy, officially known as M51a or NGC 5194, is a galaxy large enough and close enough to us that amateur astronomers can see it on a dark night with binoculars. The Whirlpool Galaxy was the first to be classified as a spiral galaxy and is particularly interesting for its interaction with the dwarf galaxy NGC 5195, one of the most well-known galactic interactions in astronomy. This impressive and hellish-looking picture shows the Whirlpool Galaxy in both visual light (on the left – showing its stars) and infrared light (on the right – showing its dust structure).
2 ― SDSS J1038+4849
Our universe is both massive and fascinating. While we have a pretty elevated view of ourselves as humans, whenever we peer into the cosmos we really see how small we are in compared to the rest of whats out there. The lowest astronomical figures say there are 100 billion galaxies (that’s 100,000,000,000) in the universe, and our Milky Way is only one. Take the Earth – and multiply it times 17 billion. That’s how many Earth-sized worlds exist only in the Milky Way Galaxy. Multiply that times 100 billion galaxies and you have a massive universe, not even counting the stars and non-Earth-sized planets. Here, we focus on some of the most amazing aspects of our universe: galaxies. The masses of stars, planets, debris, dark matter, and more follow some general patterns but sometimes even they break tradition and amaze us, earning them a spot on this list of the strangest and most bizarre galaxies in the universe.
Most of the strange galaxies on this list are known to astronomers by two classifications: the Messier catalog or the New General Catalog. Messier’s catalog was compiled in 1771 by French astronomer Charles Messier as a way to organize the host of cosmic discoveries happening at the time. A particular fan of comets, Messier made the list with his assistant Pierre Méchain to filter out non-comet items. The New General Catalog (NGC) of Nebulae and Clusters of Stars is a collection of various types of deep sky objects compiled by John Louis Emil Dreyer. Numerous revisions have cleaned up the listing, now one of the most comprehensive catalogs to date with 7,840 deep space objects.
From a galaxy which resembles a cosmic sunflower unfolding before our eyes to a hellish-looking mass of gas and matter to violent galactic collisions which seem oh-so-peaceful in still images, here are the 25 Most Bizarre Galaxies in the Universe.
5 ― Pandora's Cluster
Source: NASA, Image: NASA
Formally known as Abell 2744, this galaxy cluster is known as Pandora’s Cluster due to the host of strange phenomena resulting from the convergence of multiple smaller galaxy clusters. This picture shows the irregularly shaped cluster in blue.
5 ― Pandora's Cluster
Source: NASA, Image: NASA
Formally known as Abell 2744, this galaxy cluster is known as Pandora’s Cluster due to the host of strange phenomena resulting from the convergence of multiple smaller galaxy clusters. This picture shows the irregularly shaped cluster in blue.
4 ― NGC 5408
Source: NASA, Image: NASA
Looking more like the colored sprinkles on a birthday cake, NGC 5408 is a remarkable irregular galaxy in the constellation of Centaurus. Though not as well-put-together as spiral or elliptical galaxies, NGC 5408 is equally as strange and interesting due to the ultraluminous X-rays it puts out. Scientists still aren’t sure what cause them but speculate it could be an intermediate mass black hole.
3 ― Whirlpool Galaxy
Source: NASA, Image: NASA
The Whirlpool Galaxy, officially known as M51a or NGC 5194, is a galaxy large enough and close enough to us that amateur astronomers can see it on a dark night with binoculars. The Whirlpool Galaxy was the first to be classified as a spiral galaxy and is particularly interesting for its interaction with the dwarf galaxy NGC 5195, one of the most well-known galactic interactions in astronomy. This impressive and hellish-looking picture shows the Whirlpool Galaxy in both visual light (on the left – showing its stars) and infrared light (on the right – showing its dust structure).
2 ― SDSS J1038+4849
Source: NASA, Image: NASA
Galaxy cluster SDSS J1038+4849 is one of the coolest clusters we’ve ever found. Resembling a uniquely human figure (like the snowman on the asteroid Vesta from our Strange Things About the Universe list), everyone can see the smiling face of this galaxy. The eyes and nose are galaxies but the curved lines are due to gravitational lensing. Since the cluster has so much mass, it bends and distorts the light around it, creating this happy arc.
1 ― NGC3314a & NGC3314b
Source: NASA, Image: NASA
Though these two galaxies look as though they’re colliding, it’s just a matter of perspective. From our vantage point on Earth, these two galaxies seem to overlap each other but are actually tens of millions of light years apart. Nonetheless, they produce one of the coolest and strangest galactic images ever recorded.
From list25 and Wikipedia.
Galaxy cluster SDSS J1038+4849 is one of the coolest clusters we’ve ever found. Resembling a uniquely human figure (like the snowman on the asteroid Vesta from our Strange Things About the Universe list), everyone can see the smiling face of this galaxy. The eyes and nose are galaxies but the curved lines are due to gravitational lensing. Since the cluster has so much mass, it bends and distorts the light around it, creating this happy arc.
1 ― NGC3314a & NGC3314b
Source: NASA, Image: NASA
Though these two galaxies look as though they’re colliding, it’s just a matter of perspective. From our vantage point on Earth, these two galaxies seem to overlap each other but are actually tens of millions of light years apart. Nonetheless, they produce one of the coolest and strangest galactic images ever recorded.
From list25 and Wikipedia.
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