The Hubble Telescope captured a close-up view of the galaxy’s central region, revealing its enormous size. It is estimated to be about 250,000 light-years across, so NGC 474 is 2.5 times larger than our galaxy, the Milky Way.
According to NASA, the uniqueness of galaxy NGC 474 is not only its massive size, but the complex series of layered shells surrounding its spherical core. Although the source of these shells is unknown, they may be the result of a galaxy merger in which NGC 474 absorbed one or more smaller galaxies.
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During galaxy mergers, absorbed galaxies can create waves, forming the layered shells observed in NGC 474. This process is similar to how pebbles dropped in water create ripples on the surface.
“About 10% of elliptical galaxies have shell structures, but unlike the majority of elliptical galaxies, which are associated with clusters of galaxies. Shelled ellipses are usually located in relatively empty spaces. Maybe they have cannibalized their neighbors,” NASA officials said in a statement quoted by SINDOnews from the Space.com page, Wednesday (25/5/2022).
The new image of NGC 474 was taken using Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys on May 18, 2022. The researchers also used data from Hubble’s Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 and Wide Field Camera 3 to get a comprehensive view of the massive galaxy.
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