NGC 6684, located in the Pavo constellation, is an intriguing lenticular Galaxy that stands out due to its unique characteristics. Situated approximately 44 million light-years away, this distant galaxy differs significantly from our own Milky Way. The Hubble Space Telescope fortuitously came across NGC 6684 during its mission to survey galaxies within 32.6 million light-years that have yet to be imaged.
A Lenticular Galaxy possesses a distinct shape resembling a lens when observed from the side. NASA explains that NGC 6684’s haziness contributes to its ghostly appearance. While the Milky Way is classified as a spiral galaxy, with its spiral arms and central bulge of stars, NGC 6684 lacks these features. Instead, it contains a disk of stars and a central bulge, indicating its lenticular nature.
Scientists believe that lenticular galaxies contain older stars compared to spiral galaxies. These galaxies could be aging spiral galaxies that have lost their arms or spiral galaxies that have merged. NGC 6684 may shed light on the early state of the Milky Way before galactic collisions contributed to the formation of its distinctive spiral arms. Other lenticular galaxies recently captured by the Hubble Space Telescope include NGC 1023, NGC 5283, and NGC 3489.
Although NGC 6684 cannot be observed with amateur telescopes or binoculars, sky enthusiasts can easily spot another captivating galaxy, Andromeda (M31), in the eastern sky during late September and early October. Situated near the Andromeda and Cassiopeia constellations, Andromeda is the closest major galaxy to the Milky Way and shares spiral characteristics. While it appears as a whitish nebulous cloud in dark skies, the best view of Andromeda will come in approximately 4 billion years when it collides and merges with the Milky Way.
Sources:
– NASA: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2022/from-dust-to-disk-hubble-spies-galaxy-with-a-strange-lens-like-shape
– EarthSky: https://earthsky.org/brightest-stars/andromeda-is-closer-than-you-think
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