Hubble Captures Beautiful Image of Rose-like Elliptical Galaxy

Astronomers have captured a spectacular image of a pale, rose-like elliptical galaxy far from Earth. The new image reveals PGC 6240, a galaxy with hazy shells of stars that encircle a very bright center.

The galaxy is known for its unusual structure. Located in the southern constellation of Hydrus (The Water Snake), PGC 6240 is composed of shells; while some are packed close to the center of the galaxy, others are flung further out into space. In fact, several wisps of material have been thrown so far that they appear to be almost detached from the galaxy altogether.

Its structure isn't the only thing that has intrigued astronomers, though. They're also interested in the surrounding globular clusters. These dense, tightly packed groups of gravitationally bound stars orbit galaxies. In fact, over 150 of these clusters are located in our own galaxy, the Milky Way.

All of the globular clusters around a certain galaxy form at approximately the same time, which gives them all the same age. This is echoed within the clusters, as well; all of the stars within a single cluster form at around the same time. Because of this, most galaxies have cluster populations of pretty similar ages. However, PGC 6240 is a bit different. It possesses clusters that are varied-while some do contain old stars, as expected, others contain younger stars which formed more recently.

So why these varied stars and unusual structure? Most likely, the galaxy merged with another galaxy at some point in the recent past. Such a merger would send ripples through the galaxy and disrupt its structure, forming the concentric shells of material. The merger would have also ignited a strong burst of star formation in the galaxy, which would then trigger similar activity in nearby space. This would have created new, younger globular clusters.

This image is actually just one of the pictures that were submitted into the Hubble's Hidden Treasures image processing competition. If you want to see a list of the winners and some more fantastic images, you can check them out here.