Galaxie Elliptique M60 et galaxie Spirale NGC 4647
Giant elliptical galaxy M60 and spiral galaxy NGC 4647 do look like
an odd couple in
this sharp cosmic portrait
from the Hubble Space Telescope.
But they are found in a region of space where galaxies tend to gather,
on the eastern side of the nearby
Virgo
Galaxy
Cluster.
About 54 million light-years distant, bright M60's
simpler egg-like shape is created by its
randomly swarming older stars,
while NGC 4647's young blue stars, gas and dust are organized into
winding arms rotating in a flattened disk.
Spiral NGC 4647 is
estimated to be more distant
than M60, some 63 million light-years away.
Also known
as Arp 116,
the pair of galaxies may be on the
verge of a significant gravitational
encounter, though.
M60 (aka NGC 4649) is about 120,000 light-years across.
The smaller NGC 4647 spans around 90,000 light-years, about the size
of our own Milky Way.