by Ann » Thu Jul 31, 2014 7:44 pm
The galaxy you pointed to is sometimes called NGC 6054, although I believe it is nameless. At least it has no name in my software, Guide.
But the galaxy is certainly interesting, and it has been described, too. In
The Color Atlas of Galaxies, James D Wray wrote:
NGC 6054 is the galaxy (...) with the extraordinary blue bar. There are practically no bars similar to this...
However, there is no sign of the strange structure seen in the STScI Digitized Sky Survey image in James D Wray's picture.
But the galaxy is unusual, and the blue bar is striking. You can see it quite clearly in
this picture by Adam Block.
In Adam Block's image, you can see some clumpiness in the outer structure of the galaxy in question, but there is nothing in Block's image that resembles the long, curved, sharply defined shape that is visible in the STScI Digitized Sky Survey image.
Tony Hallas has also photographed the Hercules cluster and the galaxy sometimes (but erroneously) called NGC 6054.
In Hallas' image, there is nothing that resembles the strange feature in the Sky Survey image.
My completely amateur opinion is that the feature seen in the Sky Survey image is an artifact. Either that, or it is an actual photo of a transient phenomenon, such as a (very elongated) asteroid passing by.
Ann
The galaxy you pointed to is sometimes called NGC 6054, although I believe it is nameless. At least it has no name in my software, Guide.
But the galaxy is certainly interesting, and it has been described, too. In [i]The Color Atlas of Galaxies[/i], James D Wray wrote:
[quote]NGC 6054 is the galaxy (...) with the extraordinary blue bar. There are practically no bars similar to this...[/quote]
However, there is no sign of the strange structure seen in the STScI Digitized Sky Survey image in James D Wray's picture.
But the galaxy is unusual, and the blue bar is striking. You can see it quite clearly in [url=http://www.caelumobservatory.com/gallery/n6050.shtml]this picture by Adam Block[/url].
In Adam Block's image, you can see some clumpiness in the outer structure of the galaxy in question, but there is nothing in Block's image that resembles the long, curved, sharply defined shape that is visible in the STScI Digitized Sky Survey image.
Tony Hallas has also photographed the Hercules cluster and the galaxy sometimes (but erroneously) called NGC 6054. [url=http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap070719.html]In Hallas' image[/url], there is nothing that resembles the strange feature in the Sky Survey image.
My completely amateur opinion is that the feature seen in the Sky Survey image is an artifact. Either that, or it is an actual photo of a transient phenomenon, such as a (very elongated) asteroid passing by.
Ann