Image 5-22
Elliptical Galaxy NGC 1316
This Hubble Space Telescope image shows complex loops and blobs of cosmic dust that lie hidden in the giant elliptical galaxy NGC 1316. The existence of dust lanes and star clusters of this giant galaxy that provide evidence that it was formed from a past merger of two separate gas-rich galaxies. Astronomers believe that a collision of two spiral galaxies merged together a few billion years ago to shape NGC 1316 as it appears today. NGC 1316 is located about 75 million light-years from Earth on the outskirts of a nearby galaxy cluster in the southern constellation of Fornax,
NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
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