Panning across Elliptical Galaxy NGC 4696 | Hubble

Panning over Interacting Galaxies NGC 5996 & NGC 5994 (Arp 72) | Hubble | Panning over Interacting Galaxies NGC 5996 & NGC 5994 (Arp 72) | Hubble FriendsofNASA.org: This image features Arp 72, a very selective galaxy group that... | By Friends of NASAFacebook

This group of galaxies known as NGC 7764A resides 425 million light-years away in the constellation Phoenix. NGC 7764A is a good example of just how weird naming conventions can get for galaxies. The three galaxies individually are referred to as NGC 7764A1, NGC 7764A2, and NGC 7764A3. Though this might seem haphazard, it’s important to keep in mind that many astronomical catalogs were compiled over a century ago, well before modern technology made standardizing scientific terminology easier. As