Astronomers have made a remarkable discovery using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, which has captured images of the Bullseye galaxy with an unprecedented nine glowing rings. The rare event was caused by a smaller blue dwarf galaxy that plunged straight through the center of the Bullseye about 50 million years ago.
The collision created a ripple effect, pushing gas, dust, and stars both inward and outward, forming the distinct rings. Hubble’s high-resolution imagery allowed researchers to study the galaxy in unprecedented detail, confirming eight visible rings and a ninth ring detected with data from the W.M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii.
“This was a serendipitous discovery,” said Imad Pasha, lead researcher at Yale University. “We were looking at a ground-based imaging survey when we saw a galaxy with several clear rings. We had to investigate it.”
The blue dwarf galaxy’s flythrough affected the first rings more significantly, causing them to spread out in wider circles. The outer rings, however, are likely to expand over time due to classical waves unbound by galactic core gravity.
Hubble’s discovery not only provides insights into the formation and evolution of galaxies but also validates a long-standing theory regarding the behavior of galaxy rings. As NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope begins science operations, astronomers expect to find more galaxies like this one soon, which will help them understand how rare these spectacular events are.
Source: https://scitechdaily.com/hubble-captures-a-cosmic-bullseye-revealing-a-stunning-nine-ring-galaxy