NASA/ESA's Hubble Space Telescope has captured an image of the spiral galaxy IC 3225, located approximately 100 million light-years from Earth. The galaxy appears to be racing through space, resembling a comet with a trailing tail of gas.
IC 3225 is part of the Virgo galaxy cluster, which contains over 1,300 galaxies. The dense environment of this cluster generates a hot gas field known as the 'intracluster medium.' The significant mass of the cluster results in rapid orbits for its galaxies, subjecting them to intense 'ram pressure' as they navigate through this medium.
This ram pressure can strip a galaxy of its star-forming gas and dust, potentially halting new star formation. However, it can also compress other regions, enhancing star formation. Observations indicate that IC 3225 has experienced ram pressure stripping in the past, leading to a distorted shape with increased star formation on one side and a stretched appearance on the other.
The morphology of IC 3225 serves as a striking example of the powerful forces acting on galaxies within crowded cosmic environments.