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Zoom to NGC 1277

This video zooms into the relic galaxy NGC 1277 near the center of the Perseus cluster of over 1,000 galaxies, located 240 million light-years from Earth. The galaxy is unique in that it is considered a relic of what galaxies were like in the early universe. The galaxy is composed exclusively of aging stars that were born 10 billion years ago. NGC 1277 is moving so fast through the cluster, at 2 million miles per hour, that it cannot merge with other galaxies to collect stars or pull in gas to fuel star formation. In addition, near the galaxy cluster center, intergalactic gas is so hot it cannot cool to condense and form stars.
  • Release Date
    March 12, 2018
  • Science Release
    Arrested Development: Hubble Finds Relic Galaxy Close to Home
    Read the release
  • Credit
    NASA, ESA, and J. DePasquale (STScI)

Downloads

  • 640 × 360, 30 FPS
    mp4 (10.15 MB)
  • 1280 × 720, 30 FPS
    mp4 (23.67 MB)
  • 1920 × 1080, 30 FPS
    mp4 (10.91 MB)

Related Images & Videos

Galaxy NGC 1277

Galaxy NGC 1277

[Upper right] —This is a Hubble Space Telescope image of galaxy NGC 1277. The galaxy is unique in that it is considered a relic of what galaxies were like in the early universe. The galaxy is composed exclusively of aging stars that were born 10 billion years ago. But unlike...

Compass Image for NGC 1277

Compass Image for NGC 1277

NGC 1277 Closeup

NGC 1277 Closeup

This is a Hubble Space Telescope image of galaxy NGC 1277. The galaxy is unique in that it is considered a relic of what galaxies were like in the early universe. The galaxy is composed exclusively of aging stars that were born 10 billion years ago. But unlike other galaxies in...

NGC 1277 Globular Clusters Comparison

NGC 1277 Globular Clusters Comparison

This is a blink comparison that plots the location of the red stars and blue stars that dominate the globular clusters in galaxies NGC 1277 and NGC 1278. It shows that NGC 1277 is dominated by ancient red globular clusters. This is evidence that galaxy NGC 1277 stopped making...

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Last Updated
Mar 28, 2025
Contact
Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

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