Cosmoview Episode 74: Gemini South Captures Twisted Dusty Disk of NGC 4753, Showcasing the Aftermath of Past Merger

Discovered by astronomer William Herschel in 1784, NGC 4753 displays some truly fascinating features. In this image captured by the Gemini South telescope, one half of the International Gemini Observatory operated by NSF NOIRLab, the galaxy’s intricate dust lanes are a sight to behold. NGC 4753 is located about 60 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo. It is a member of the NGC 4753 Group of galaxies within the Virgo II Cloud — a series of at least 100 galaxy clusters and individual galaxies stretching off the southern edge of the Virgo Supercluster. A 1992 study of NGC 4753 found that its complex network of twisted dust lanes is likely the result of a merger with a nearby dwarf galaxy companion about 1.3 billion years ago.