Motion | Pages 46-47







A Gallery of Peculiar Objects

The galaxies shown here are only a handful of the many varieties to be found in the universe, all products of cosmic collisions and close encounters. In the polar-ring galaxy above (center), the ring rotating at right angles to the plane of the disk suggests that it may be the remains of a different stellar system. Faint spokes in the Cartwheel (opposite) may indicate the post-collision reemergence of spiral arms.