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NGC 5866

NGC 5866 is a lenticular galaxy located about 44 million light years away towards the constellation Draco, the Dragon. It is about 60,000 light years across, smaller than our Milky Way, though it contains a similar amount of mass.

NGC 5866 is the largest of a small cluster of galaxies, the NGC 5866 group of galaxies, and shows evidence of a close encounter with another of its neighbors. NGC 5866 is classified as an S0 type of galaxy- viewed face on it would look like a smooth disk. Because it is flat, rather than a spherical elliptical galaxy, it is still considered part of the spiral class of galaxies, even though it lacks the spiral structure.

Image from NASA, information from HubbleSite.

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NGC 5866

NGC 5866 is a lenticular galaxy located about 44 million light years away towards the constellation Draco, the Dragon. It is also a disk galaxy, one whose structure is flat like a spiral but lacks the spiral arms. “Lenticular“ galaxies are ones with disks like spiral galaxies but bulges like elliptical galaxies.

NGC 5866 is divided in two by a thick dust lane. The outer layer of stars includes many globular clusters. The dust lane is slightly out of line with the halo of stars, suggesting that the galaxy may have been warped by gravitational interactions with another galaxy. This is unsurprising, as NGC 5866 is the largest galaxy in the NGC 5866 galaxy group.

Image from ESA, information from HubbleSite.