Astronomy Picture of the Day [1]Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer. 2023 September 13 [2]A galaxy with blue spiral arms is seen in the image center in the midst of numerous foreground stars. This galaxy is surrounded by a white envelope, which was found to be hydrogen gas. Please see the explanation for more detailed information. NGC 4632: Galaxy with a Hidden Polar Ring Credit: [3]Jayanne English ([4]U. Manitoba), [5]Nathan Deg ([6]Queen's University) & [7]WALLABY Survey, [8]CSIRO/[9]ASKAP, [10]NAOJ/[11]Subaru Telescope; Text: [12]Jayanne English (U. Manitoba) Explanation: Galaxy NGC 4632 hides a secret from optical telescopes. It is surrounded by a ring of cool [13]hydrogen gas orbiting at 90 degrees to its spiral disk. Such [14]polar ring galaxies have previously been discovered using starlight. However, NGC 4632 is among the first in which a [15]radio [16]telescope survey revealed a polar ring. The [17]featured composite image combines this gas ring, observed with the highly sensitive [18]ASKAP telescope, with optical data from the [19]Subaru telescope. Using [20]virtual reality, astronomers separated out the gas in the main disk of the galaxy from the ring, and the subtle color gradient traces its orbital motion. Why do [21]polar rings exist? They could be material [22]pulled from one galaxy as it [23]gravitationally interacts with a companion. Or hydrogen gas flows along the [24]filaments of the cosmic web and accretes into a ring around a galaxy, some of which gravitationally contracts into stars. Tomorrow's picture: open space __________________________________________________________________ [25]< | [26]Archive | [27]Submissions | [28]Index | [29]Search | [30]Calendar | [31]RSS | [32]Education | [33]About APOD | [34]Discuss | [35]> __________________________________________________________________ Authors & editors: [36]Robert Nemiroff ([37]MTU) & [38]Jerry Bonnell ([39]UMCP) NASA Official: Phillip Newman [40]Specific rights apply. [41]NASA Web Privacy Policy and Important Notices A service of: [42]ASD at [43]NASA / [44]GSFC, [45]NASA Science Activation & [46]Michigan Tech. U. References 1. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 2. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/2309/PolarRing_Askap_960.jpg 3. https://jayannecosmoscanvas.wordpress.com/ 4. https://umanitoba.ca/science/physics-and-astronomy 5. https://nathandeg.com/ 6. https://www.queensu.ca/physics/ 7. https://wallaby-survey.org/ 8. https://www.csiro.au/ 9. https://www.csiro.au/en/about/facilities-collections/ATNF/ASKAP-radio-telescope/ 10. https://www.nao.ac.jp/ 11. https://subarutelescope.org/ 12. http://www2.physics.umanitoba.ca/u/english/ 13. https://periodic.lanl.gov/1.shtml 14. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap990510.html 15. https://science.nasa.gov/ems/05_radiowaves 16. https://public.nrao.edu/telescopes/radio-telescopes/ 17. https://youtu.be/dkMr-D2719w 18. https://www.csiro.au/en/about/facilities-collections/atnf/askap-radio-telescope 19. https://subarutelescope.org/ 20. https://images.nasa.gov/details/ARC-1992-AC89-0437-6 21. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar-ring_galaxy 22. https://www.rover.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/dog-playing-tug.jpg 23. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap190811.html 24. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-H3WzaewdY 25. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230912.html 26. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html 27. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/apsubmit2015.html 28. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/aptree.html 29. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search 30. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/calendar/allyears.html 31. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod.rss 32. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/edlinks.html 33. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html 34. https://asterisk.apod.com/discuss_apod.php?date=230913 35. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap230914.html 36. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/faculty/Nemiroff.html 37. http://www.phy.mtu.edu/ 38. https://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/jbonnell/www/bonnell.html 39. http://www.astro.umd.edu/ 40. https://apod.nasa.gov/apod/lib/about_apod.html#srapply 41. https://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/HP_Privacy.html 42. https://astrophysics.gsfc.nasa.gov/ 43. https://www.nasa.gov/ 44. https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/ 45. https://science.nasa.gov/learners 46. http://www.mtu.edu/