New Delhi: A new image of the galaxy that cannot be classified by simple terms has been taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, and it is a stunning sight of the galaxy called NGC 2775. The galaxy is approximately 67 million light-years distant in the constellation Cancer and features an almost smooth empty centre, similar to an elliptical galaxy. A halo of dust and ragged star clumps surrounding it is more in the form of the arrangement of a spiral galaxy.

Astronomers can only observe the NGC 2775 from a single angle, and that is the reason why it is hard to determine what it actually is. It is dubbed a spiral galaxy by some scientists due to its feathery ring of stars, and some scientists claim that it better fits the lenticular classification, a category that is a blend of spirals and ellipticals.

A galaxy shaped by past encounters

The lenticular galaxies are known to have complicated histories, and so may be the case with NGC 2775. Other theories suggest that it might have been a spiral galaxy which lost its gas or joined other galaxies. The other alternative is that it was initially more of an elliptical galaxy and subsequently gathered gas that created a disc.

The merger is backed by evidence of previous interactions. Beyond the frame of the picture created by Hubble is a faintly illuminated hydrogen gas tail that extends almost to a radius of 100,000 light-years of the galaxy. This characteristic can also be that of the debris of other smaller galaxies that were ripped off and engulfed by the NGC 2775 many years ago, which contributed to its peculiar nature.

Flocculent spiral with fresh clues

Nowadays, the majority of astronomers consider that the galaxy NGC 2775 belongs to the category of the flocculent spiral galaxy, which has soft, discontinuous, feather-like arms instead of definite spirals. It is these tufts of stars which trace loosely the swirl of the entire galaxy.

The latest version of this image of this galaxy was published in 2021, although the original image was released in 2020 by Hubble. It is a particular red colour of the gas clouds of hydrogen gas, which envelop the huge young stars, and it looks like brilliant pink spots. The extra information is useful to researchers in mapping in a better way the locations of fresh stars being created within this mysterious and lovely galaxy.