AM 0644-741

AM 0644-741, also known as the Lindsay - Shapley ring is a ring galaxy with a lens -shaped galaxy at the center. Your distance is about 300 million light years and is located in the constellation Volans. The ring has a diameter of about 150,000 light- years and the lenticular nucleus was formerly the center of a normal spiral galaxy.

Origin and nature of the ring

The ring of AM 0644-741 was created by a collision with another galaxy, which triggered a gravitational disturbance. Such ring galaxies arise from the fact that one coming from outside the galaxy moves through the disk of a galaxy. The passage generates a shock wave, which presses the gas and dust to the outside. If the shock ring moves outwards, gas and dust clouds move in together due to gravity and produce new stars.

The ring is a turbulent star-forming region in which mainly young, hot blue stars are. He will extend for the next 300 million years further and dissolve slowly.

Fluorescent hydrogen regions

The pink areas ( seen in the picture pink as small dots ) are dilute clouds of hot hydrogen gas. The hot young stars irradiate the gas with intense ultraviolet light and thereby bring it to fluoresce.