In this Hubble Space Telescope image of NGC 7479, also known as Caldwell 44, the tightly wound arms of the spiral galaxy create an inverted "S," as they spin in a counter-clockwise direction. However, this galaxy, sometimes nicknamed the Propeller Galaxy, emits a jet of radiation that bends in the opposite direction to the stars and dust in the arms of the galaxy. Astronomers think that the radio jet in NGC 7479 was put into its bizarre backward spin following a merger with another galaxy.
NGC 7479 is undergoing starburst activity, with many bright, young stars visible in the spiral arms and disk. The three brightest stars in this image, however, are foreground stars — caught on camera because they lie between the galaxy and Hubble.
For more information, visit:
www.spacetelescope.org/images/potw1125a/
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA
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