Astronomer discovers elusive 'Iris Galaxy' hidden within the Sombrero Galaxy
Located in the southern area of the Virgo constellation, 31 million light-years away from the sun, is Messier 104, also known as the Sombrero Galaxy due to its shape. It was first discovered in 1781 by French astronomer Pierre Méchain. Using photographs from the Hubble Space Telescope, Rodriguez identified a unique object in these images and unveiled a previously unknown galaxy with an active galactic nucleus upon closer analysis. An active nucleus in a galaxy often emits more light than its surroundings, which is generally associated with the presence of a powerful black hole or cluster or due to star formation occurring in the galaxy's nucleus.
7:01 AM EST, January 21, 2024
Rare galaxy type identified
While studying Hubble's images, Rodriguez spotted an object with a diameter of about four arc seconds. Upon further examination, it was suggested to be an SBc-type barred spiral galaxy. Barred spiral galaxies, which have a band of bright stars budding out of the center and streaking across the middle of the galaxy, are a relative novelty in the universe, constituting a mere 15 percent of all galaxies. More precisely, the SBc type is even less common, indicating that the galaxy's arms are barely developed and seem on the verge of straightening (this type represents just 5 percent of all galaxies).
According to subsequent studies, the nucleus of the galaxy, and likely its dominant arms, are teeming with vibrant, young stars and dust. Rodriguez was able to ascertain the galaxy's motion speed relative to us - about 848 miles per second.
Rodriguez, who found the new galaxy, proposed the Iris Galaxy moniker and surmised that it may be gravitationally linked to the Sombrero Galaxy, possibly acting as its satellite. This may confer an angular size of approximately 1,000 light years. Alternatively, if the Iris Galaxy is not associated with the Sombrero Galaxy, its distance from the Solar System could be as great as 65 million light-years. Under these circumstances, the estimated angular size of this galaxy could reach up to 71,000 light-years. Future observations are slated to pinpoint the exact characteristics of this newfound galaxy.
