Gemini South Reveals Tangled Spiral Arms of the Peculiar Galaxy NGC 7727
Gemini South, one half of the International Gemini Observatory operated by NSF’s NOIRLab, captures the billion-year-old aftermath of a double spiral galaxy collision. At the heart of this chaotic interaction, entwined and caught in the midst of the chaos, is a pair of supermassive black holes — the closest such pair ever recorded from Earth.
Credit:International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA
Acknowledgment: PI: C. Onken (Australian National University)
Image processing: T.A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF’s NOIRLab), J. Miller (International Gemini Observatory/NSF’s NOIRLab), M. Rodriguez (International Gemini Observatory/NSF’s NOIRLab), M. Zamani (NSF’s NOIRLab)
About the Image
| Id: | noirlab2329a |
| Type: | Observation |
| Release date: | Oct. 25, 2023, 11 a.m. |
| Related releases: | noirlab2329 |
| Size: | 1989 x 1924 px |
About the Object
| Name: | NGC 7727 |
| Distance: | 73 million light years |
| Constellation: | Aquarius |
| Category: | Galaxies Gemini Observatory |
Wallpapers
Coordinates
| Position (RA): | 23 39 54.30 |
| Position (Dec): | -12° 17' 31.22" |
| Field of view: | 5.31 x 5.14 arcminutes |
| Orientation: | North is 99.0° left of vertical |
View in WorldWide Telescope:
Colors & filters
| Band | Wave-length | Tele-scope |
|---|---|---|
| Optical g | 475 nm | Gemini South GMOS-S |
| Optical r | 630 nm | Gemini South GMOS-S |
| Optical i | 780 nm | Gemini South GMOS-S |
| Optical H-alpha | 662 nm | Gemini South GMOS-S |