NASA finds ‘Lost Galaxy’ in Virgo Cluster

It was in the 1950s that Leland S. Copeland, an amateur astronomer, fixed his telescope lens on a distant galaxy in the Virgo constellation and saw an eerie spiral shrouded in dust. He dubbed the spiral as “The Lost Galaxy”.

Key Points

• The galaxy was also known as NGC 4535.
• It is one of the largest of the 2,000-or-so galaxies in the Virgo Cluster located around 50 million light-years from Earth.
• When the galaxy was viewed through the Hubble Space Telescope of NASA, the haze that clouded Lost Galaxy vanishes to reveal a vibrant sea of stars not so different from the Milky Way.
• The Lost Galaxy is a vast swirl of stars with a distinct bar structure at its center. It is similar to Milky Way.
• As per NASA, a bit about the history of the galaxy can be known from the colors of those stars.
• The oldest, coldest retinue of stars of the Lost Galaxy is pointed out by the yellowish glow of the galaxy’s central bulge.
• The hottest, youngest stars are pointed by the bright blue clouds clustered together in the spiral arms of the galaxy.

An image of the Lost Galaxy was released by NASA on January 11 as part of its ongoing survey of 38 spiral galaxies that are located within 75 million light-years of Earth.