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LEDA 1313424

LEDA 1313424 (also known as the Bullseye Galaxy) is a collisional ring galaxy (CRG) located in the Pisces constellation around 551 million light years from Earth.[1][3] It is notable for its nine identified rings making it the galaxy with the most amount of rings discovered.[4] About 50 million years ago, a blue dwarf galaxy collided with LEDA 1313424 through its central region, initiating a burst of star formation and causing it to have an active galactic nucleus (AGN). The impactor is currently 130,00 light years from LEDA 1313424.[5]

This illustration compares the size of our own Milky Way galaxy to gargantuan galaxy LEDA 1313424, nicknamed the Bullseye. The Milky Way is about 100,000 light-years in diameter, and the Bullseye is almost two-and-a-half times larger, at 250,000 light-years across. NASA, ESA, Ralf Crawford (STScI)
Illustration of LEDA 1313424 compared to the Milky Way galaxy, the galaxy which Earth is located.

Morphology

This illustration shows the massive galaxy nicknamed the Bullseye face-on. Dotted circles indicate where each of its rings are, which formed like ripples in a pond after a blue dwarf galaxy (not shown) shot through its core about 50 million years ago. NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope helped researchers carefully pinpoint the location of most of its rings, many of which are piled up at the center. Data from the W. M. Keck Observatory in Hawaii helped the team confirm another ring. NASA, ESA, Ralf Crawford (STScI)
Artistic concept diagram of the rings of LEDA 1313424.

Currently, nine rings have been identified in LEDA 1313424 with several 'piled up' near the central region of the galaxy and others extending tens of kiloparsecs from the center of the galaxy (~70 kpc). The outskirts of the galaxy have numerous star formation regions which surround the much redder inner ring structures.[4]

Collision Event

Around 50 million years ago, a small blue dwarf galaxy merged with LEDA 1313424 nearly head-on. The galaxy passed through the central region of LEDA 1313424 at an estimated speed ranging from 500-2000 kilometers per second.[4][6] This collision event with the dwarf galaxy passing through the center of the galaxy is how LEDA 1313424 received its nickname.[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g "Results for object WISEA J000939.34+070449.2". NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database. NASA and Caltech. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  2. ^ "LEDA 1313424". SIMBAD. Centre de données astronomiques de Strasbourg. Retrieved 8 April 2025.
  3. ^ "Galaxy LEDA 1313424 (Advanced Camera for Surveys Image) - NASA Science". 2025-02-04. Retrieved 2025-04-08.
  4. ^ a b c Pasha, Imad; van Dokkum, Pieter G.; Liu, Qing; Bowman, William P.; Janssens, Steven R.; Keim, Michael A.; Neufeld, Chloe; Abraham, Roberto (February 2025). "The Bullseye: HST, Keck/KCWI, and Dragonfly Characterization of a Giant Nine-ringed Galaxy". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 980 (1): L3. arXiv:2502.09722. Bibcode:2025ApJ...980L...3P. doi:10.3847/2041-8213/ad9f5c. ISSN 2041-8205.
  5. ^ "Galaxy LEDA 1313424". www.esa.int. Retrieved 2025-04-08.
  6. ^ Lazaro, Enrico de (2025-02-04). "Astronomers Detect Nine Star-Filled Rings around Giant Galaxy | Sci.News". Sci.News: Breaking Science News. Retrieved 2025-04-08.
  7. ^ "Bullseye Galaxy (LEDA 1313424) – Constellation Guide". www.constellation-guide.com. Retrieved 2025-04-08.