Enigmatic spiral galaxy NGC 1097 lies about 45 million light-years away in the southern constellation Fornax. The small companion galaxy, just left of center, that seems to be wrapped in its spiral arms, is not NGC 1097's most peculiar feature though. Instead, This very deep exposure shows hints of faint, mysterious jets, most easily seen to extend well beyond the bright arms toward the bottom. In fact, four faint jets are ultimately recognized in optical images of NGC 1097. The jets trace an X centered on the galaxy's nucleus, but could be fossil trails left over from the capture of a much smaller galaxy in the large spiral's ancient past. A Seyfert galaxy, NGC 1097's nucleus also harbors a massive black hole.

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Image Description and Details :

NGC 1097, done in LRGB with a CDK20, total frame 16Hrs , a Moravian CCD G4- 16000, on Paramount ME2 in Obstech - Observatory El Sauce in Chile.



Copyright Information: Copyright: Team CielAustral with JC Cannone, Georges Chassaigne, Nicolas Outters , Didier Chaplain, Philippe Bernhard , Laurent Bourgon