Galaxy NGC 4388 Expels Huge Gas Cloud
Why are huge clouds of gas billowing from spiral galaxy NGC 4388?
The extent of the gas clouds, over 100,000 light-years, was unexpected before the
Subaru Telescope took the
above image.
NGC 4388 has a bright energetic nucleus and so is classified as an
active galaxy.
The spiral,
relatively close by at 60 million light years,
is a member of the nearest major
cluster of galaxies: the
Virgo Cluster.
One hypothesis holds that the gas was stripped away as
NGC 4388 made its way through the
intergalactic medium of the Virgo Cluster.
A competing hypothesis holds that the gas
is all that remains of a
smaller galaxy that was
gravitationally deconstructed
by the larger NGC 4388.
Further observations may better determine
NGC 4388's past and likely contribute to a better understanding of how
galaxies evolve inside
massive clusters.