NASA just spotted a galaxy that looks like a TIE Fighter

[Judi Lynn]

Most of what I know about space I learned from Star Wars. Okay, that’s not true, but most of what I wish existed in space is definitely based on the Star Wars universe. So, you can imagine my excitement when NASA posted an image of a distant galaxy called TXS 0128+554. It’s not the contents of the galaxy itself that excites me — though perhaps there are abundant alien worlds and a struggle between an empire and some rebels going on there — but rather its appearance.

I mean, just look at it. That’s most definitely a TIE Fighter. NASA agrees, and in a new blog post, the space agency offers an explanation for why the galaxy appears as it does in these radio images.

The galaxy, which was discovered using the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, emits radio waves in a very distinct pattern. The would-be “wings” of the TIE Fighter are believed to be the result of energy spewing from the center of the galaxy, which is likely a black hole.

“After the Fermi announcement, we zoomed in a million times closer on the galaxy using the VLBA’s radio antennas and charted its shape over time,” Matthew Lister, lead author of a study of the galaxy published in The Astrophysical Journal. “The first time I saw the results, I immediately thought it looked like Darth Vader’s TIE fighter spacecraft from ‘Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope.’ That was a fun surprise, but its appearance at different radio frequencies also helped us learn more about how active galaxies can change dramatically on decade time scales.”

More:
https://bgr.com/2020/08/31/star-wars-galaxy-tie-fighter-nasa/

[brush]

1. Definitely not the run of the mill spiral shape is it?

Wonder if there are other oddly shaped ones.