Cartwheel Galaxy Region
Depicts: The Cartwheel Galaxy, IRAS 00352-3359
Copyright: Curt Struck and Philip Appleton (Iowa State University), Kirk Borne(Hughes STX Corporation), and Ray Lucas (Space Telescope Science Institute), and NASA
The structures look like comets because they probably were spawned by a collision between high-speed and slower-moving material. This collision created an arrowhead-shaped pattern called a bow shock, which is similar to the wake of a boat speeding across a lake.
Last Update: 1 September 2019
