Free Astronomy Magazine September-October 2021

26 tron stars in binary systems. On the other side of the galaxy from this burst of new stars, the gravitational attraction of a smaller companion is pulling the outer edges of NGC 2276 out of shape. This interaction with the small lens-shaped galaxy NGC 2300 has distorted the outermost spiral arms of NGC 2276, giving the false impression that the larger galaxy is orientated face-on to Earth. NGC 2276 is by no means the only galaxy with a strange appear- ance. The Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies — a catalogue of unusual galaxies published in 1966 — contains a menagerie of weird and wonderful galaxies, including spectacular gal- axy mergers, ring-shaped galaxies, and other galactic oddities. As befits an unusually contorted galaxy, NGC 2276 has the distinc- tion of being listed in the Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies twice — once for its lopsided spiral arms and once for its interaction with its smaller neigh- bour NGC 2300. Hubble inspects a contorted spiral galaxy by NASA/ESA - Bethany Downer T his spectacular image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Tele- scope shows the trailing arms of NGC 2276, a spiral galaxy 120 mil- lion light-years away in the constel- lation of Cepheus. At first glance, the delicate tracery of bright spiral arms and dark dust lanes resembles countless other spiral galaxies. A closer look reveals a strangely lop- sided galaxy shaped by gravitational interaction and intense star forma- tion. The interaction of NGC 2276 with the intracluster medium — the superheated gas lying between the galaxies in galaxy clusters — has ig- nited a burst of star formation along one edge of the galaxy. This wave of star formation is visible as the bright, blue-tinged glow of newly formed massive stars towards the left side of this image, and gives the galaxy a strangely lopsided ap- pearance. NGC 2276’s recent burst of star formation is also related to the appearance of more exotic in- habitants — black holes and neu- ! ESA/Hubble & NASA, P. Sell Acknowledgement: L. Shatz