Similar in size to the Milky Way, elliptical galaxy NGC 7600 is
about 150 thousand light-years distant. this deep image,
spanning about 1/2 degree on toward the constellation Aquarius,
NGC 7600 sports a remarkable outer halo of nested shells and
broad circumgalactic structures. The tantalizing features can be
explained by the accretion of dark matter and stars on a cosmic
timescale. In fact, a movie generated by simulating galaxy
formation using a cosmological model with dark matter for the
halos of merging galaxies reproduces the appearance of NGC 7600
in amazing detail. The remarkable simulation movie is available
here on Vimeo and here in other It presents compelling evidence
that detailed features of galaxy mergers observed with small,
wide field telescopes on planet Earth, are natural consequences
of galaxy formation and fundamental properties of dark matter.
(Rancho Del Sol Observatory) Andrew Cooper (MPA), Carlos Frenk,
John Helly, Shaun Cole Star Stream Pilot Survey