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An edge-on view of the Whale Galaxy reveals its stellar disk

NASA Marshall says the view lets astronomers study the disk’s flatness and see material above and below it.

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A spiral galaxy viewed from its side, featuring a giant halo of hot gas blowing out of its stellar disk. X-rays from Chandra and ESA’s XMM-Newton (purple and royal blue) trace hot gas driven out by supernovas and black holes and neutron stars pulling gas from their companions, while optical light (light blue, gold and white) from ground-based observer R. Jay GaBany showcases dense dust lanes. Edge-on views of galaxies allow astronomers to study how flat their stellar disks are and provide the clearest views of material located above or below the disk.

Image Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: ©2011-2015 by R Jay GaBany, Cosmotography.com; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/L. Frattare

TLDR

NASA Marshall shared an edge-on view of NGC 4631, nicknamed the Whale Galaxy, saying it helps astronomers study the flatness of its stellar disk and see material above and below it. Another user describes the image as an optical and X-ray composite, saying its purple color shows X-rays from hot gas blown out of the galactic plane by supernovae.

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An edge-on view of the Whale Galaxy reveals its stellar disk

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