The Hubble Space Telescope of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) recently captured an image of a spiral galaxy named IC 3225 that resembles a bullet being shot from a cannon in space, flying at high speed and dragging a tail made of gas, similar to a comet.
From Earth’s perspective, the scene of the galaxy appearing in space is fascinating. Many galaxies seem to hang serenely in the open space, as if suspended on a rope; while some galaxies are performing in a more dynamic manner.
IC 3225 appears to be like a bullet flying at high speed in space, with a tail made of gas. The gas at its tail is being ejected from a disk behind it.
IC 3225 is located approximately 100 million light-years away from Earth. For celestial bodies so far from Earth, their appearance may be deceptive. The position of this galaxy suggests some of the reasons for its seemingly active nature, as it is one of over 1,300 members of the Virgo Cluster.
The density of galaxies in this cluster creates a high-temperature, gas-filled environment between them, known as the intracluster medium, and the enormous gravitational forces within the cluster cause galaxies to orbit the center of the cluster at astonishing speeds.
As galaxies like IC 3225 move through this dense intracluster medium in space, especially as they approach the center of the cluster, the gas and dust that make up the intracluster medium exert resistance on the motion of galaxies, exerting immense pressure on them.
This pressure, known as ram pressure, causes gas and dust to be stripped from the galaxies, preventing the formation of stars. Conversely, ram pressure can compress the gas within galaxies, promoting the birth of stars.
Although IC 3225 is not currently very close to the center of the Virgo Cluster, astronomers speculate that it has experienced more severe ram pressure in the past. One side of the galaxy appears compressed, with more star formation evident at its leading edge (bottom left), while the other end (top right) appears elongated and deformed.
In such a crowded galaxy cluster, IC 3225’s unique shape may also be the result of gravitational interactions with neighboring galaxies.
This twisted galaxy scene serves as a reminder that there are incredible forces at play on an astronomical scale, powerful enough to move and reshape entire galaxies!