Unraveling NGC 3169

Unraveling NGC 3169

Image Credit &
Copyright:

Christophe Vergnes,
Aziz Kaeouach

Explanation:

Spiral galaxy NGC 3169 looks to be unraveling like a ball of cosmic
yarn.

It lies some 70 million light-years away,
south of
bright star Regulus toward the faint constellation Sextans.

Wound up spiral arms are pulled out into sweeping tidal
tails as NGC 3169 (left) and neighboring NGC 3166
interact
gravitationally.

Eventually the galaxies will merge into one,
a common fate even for bright galaxies in
the local universe.

Drawn out stellar arcs and plumes are clear
indications of the ongoing gravitational interactions
across the deep and colorful
galaxy
group photo.

The telescopic frame
spans about 20 arc minutes or about 400,000 light-years
at the group’s estimated distance, and includes smaller, bluish NGC 3165
to the right.

NGC 3169 is also known to shine across the spectrum from
radio to X-rays,
harboring
an active galactic nucleus that is the
site of a supermassive black hole.