A Galaxy Twisted by Gravity
NGC 3718 is a peculiar spiral galaxy that looks like it has been put through a cosmic blender. Its spiral arms are extremely extended and warped into an 'S' shape, while a prominent dust lane wraps across its bright central core. This distortion is the result of a gravitational tug-of-war with its neighbor, the spiral galaxy NGC 3729. Just south of NGC 3718 lies the Hickson 56 compact group—a tiny cluster of five interacting galaxies located over 400 million light-years away, providing an incredible sense of depth to the image.
Imaging Challenges
- • Capturing the extremely faint, sweeping tidal arms that extend far from the main body.
- • Resolving the dark dust lane that cuts directly across the bright nucleus.
- • Maintaining enough resolution to distinguish the individual members of the tiny Hickson 56 group.
The warp in NGC 3718 is so severe that the outer regions of the galaxy are tilted by nearly 90 degrees relative to the inner disk.