Galaxy Is 'Stuck In Reverse'

Ananova ^ | 2-8-2002

[blam]

Galaxy is 'stuck in reverse'

Astronomers have found a spiral galaxy which is spinning in the wrong direction.

The spiral arms of galaxies usually trail behind but the Hubble telescope has revealed that two arms of one point forward.

Astronomers think the unusual structure may have been caused by a crash with a smaller galaxy.

The galaxy, called NGC 4622, also has a "trailing" inner arm which is wrapped around it in the opposite direction to its clockwise rotation.

Based on simulations, a team of astronomers had expected it to be turning anti-clockwise. Astronomers say its two outer arms are lopsided which indicates that something disturbed it.

NGC 4622 is 111 million light-years away in the constellation Centaurus.

The observations were made by a University of Alabama-led team which presented its findings at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society.

Story filed: 13:03 Friday 8th February 2002

[thinktwice]

But first, don't we have to know which way is up?

[illbenice]

So does this mean the Universe is going to crash in on us?

[illbenice]

Opps... I didnnt read the article. It is saying a galaxy is spining in the wrong direction. Man, I feel dumb

[medved]

If the galaxie is supposed to be ordered by gravity (the usual assumption), then there is no explaining it. I assume spiral galaxies to be held together by electromagnetic forces, and given that assumption the problem is nowhere near as outrageous.

[Hugin]

Does this mean they have located Bizarro World?

[blam]

I say we just leave it alone and give it a couple billion years and check back then to see if it got itself together.

[APBaer]

"galaxy which is spinning in the wrong direction"

This is great news, the next time someone tells me I do things "Ass Backwards",
I can simply retort: "In this Galaxy, maybe."

[Cleburne]

Maybe it all ready has! What we are seeing is pretty ancient, light being so durn slow and all that.

[Michael Barnes]

Join the crowd..I read it the way you did the first time...

[MHGinTN]

That's my cue to suggest obtaining Wal Thornhills Electric Universe, from holoscience.com. He makes a strong case for your point of view!

[ImaGraftedBranch]

Who in the heck do they think they are? How do they know that all the others aren't spinning the wrong way!??

Sheesh.

[sigSEGV]

Why are they so sure that it is one galaxy? Couldn't it just be two galaxies -- 1 in front and 1 behind? Over that kind of distance it would be kind of hard to tell the difference.

[Merdoug]

Not to change the subject, but I didn't want to be accused of posting too many vanities. If the universe is expanding (like dots on a balloon being blown up), how can galaxies collide with each other? Thanks!

[Moonmad27]

Forwards, backwards, whatever - that's still a beautiful picture. Amazing!

[sigSEGV]

And to add: If some parts were traveling in the opposite direction, wouldn't the galaxy show up as being extremely hot?

[DreamWeaver]

Bump

[jwh_Denver]

NGC 4622

I'm going to name my first born this name. Got a nice ring to it. Let's see NGC, No Good Child? 42 is the meaning of life, the universe and everything so I miss it there. 22 is busted in Blackjack. So I guess a normal kid is coming the worlds way.

[Argh]

Maybe it's spinning the right way and ours and all the others are spinning the wrong way. That's great, because when I do things bass ackwards I can blame the galaxy instead of the beer!

[Calvin Locke]

Stuck in Reverse

I have to agree that it depends on the which side you're looking at it. Maybe one of the frames of reference is that
of a "flipping" coin, so the Hubble will just have to wait a couple of hundred million years for the galaxy to complete the flip.

I think it would be interesting to be around if the galaxy ever stopped spinning. Time lapse photography of course.
Should produce a nice "small bang".