NGC 6684 is the ‘Cosmic Ghost’ That Looks Nothing Like the Common Galaxy

There’s no secret that our Universe is teeming with a plethora of weird cosmic objects, but sometimes even highly-skilled astronomers remain speechless. It’s the case once again after the discovery of a ‘cosmic ghost’ dubbed NGC 6684. The cosmic object is a galaxy that looks unfamiliar with the common ones rather than having a nefarious appearance.

The NGC 6684 galaxy is located far enough from us so that we can be sure that we’ll never get there using our current technology. To be more precise, the ‘cosmic ghost’ is located 44 million light-years away from our planet, residing all the way in the constellation Pavo.

The good old Hubble Space Telescope, which has been operating since 1990, proves once again that it can be the quintessence of space exploration by taking a beautiful picture of the NGC 6684 galaxy:

NGC 6684 is classified as a lenticular galaxy, and it was captured in a pale light due to the Advanced Camera for Surveys that’s mounted on Hubble. In case you’re wondering what on Earth is a lenticular galaxy, the explanation is quite simple. The term refers to a galaxy that, despite having a large disk, lacks the prominent spiral arms that we’re all familiar with when it comes to galaxies in general.

The Pavo constellation is located in the southern region of the sky, and its name comes from the Latin word for ‘peacock.’ The first time Pavo appeared was back in 1598, in a 35-cm diameter celestial glove that was published in Amsterdam. The one who published it was Petrus Plancius and Jodocus Hondius, while Johann Bayer’s star atlas Uranometria depicted the constellation back in 1603.

The Pavo constellation is also known to have at least 6 stars that have planets revolving around them. In other words, you might as well decide your next vacation destination if you’ve somehow invented a superfast spaceship.