NGC 2146

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NGC 2146, the Dusty Hand Galaxy, is a barred spiral galaxy in the Camelopardalis constellation. About 64 million light-years away and roughly 125,000 light-years across, it’s similar in size to the Milky Way. A dusty spiral arm crosses its bright core, bent about 45 degrees by a close encounter with a smaller galaxy around 0.8 billion years ago (likely NGC 2146A). That interaction sparked a burst of star formation, making NGC 2146 a starburst galaxy. It’s a luminous infrared galaxy with H II regions and has hosted three observed supernovae. The galaxy is moving away from Earth at about 900 kilometers per second.