Credit: KPNO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/Doug Matthews/Adam Block

NGC 1961 is a problematic galaxy. Its highly disturbed and asymmetric spiral arms would normally indicate an interaction or merger with another galaxy. However, no culprit is found to be the source of NGC 1961's angst. This galaxy is part of a group (of about 10 other smaller galaxies) around 171 million light years away. Given the apparent size and brightness of this galaxy- it must be one of the largest galaxies in our "local" universe. Astronomers have observed this galaxy from X-rays to radio wavelengths of light in order to unravel the mystery of this galaxy's morphology. One recent paper concludes that the shape of the galaxy may be due to its interaction with the gas in the cluster. Most of this galaxy is still producing young and massive stars that live short lives and die violent deaths as supernovae. The most recent explosion in this galaxy was observed in 2001. This image was taken as part of Advanced Observing Program (AOP) program at Kitt Peak Visitor Center during 2014.

Provider: NOIRLab

Image Source: https://noirlab.edu/public/images/noao-n1961matthews/

Curator: NSF's NOIRLab, Tucson, AZ, USA

Image Use Policy: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License