NGC 2685 is a confirmed polar ring galaxy - a
rare type of galaxy with stars, gas and dust orbiting in rings
perpendicular to the plane of a flat galactic disk. The bizarre
configuration could be caused by the chance capture of material
from another galaxy by a disk galaxy, with the captured debris
strung out in a rotating ring. Still, observed properties of NGC
2685 suggest that the rotating ring structure is remarkably old
and stable. In this fascinating view of the peculiar system also
known as the Helix galaxy, the strange, perpendicular rings are
easy to trace as they pass in front of the galactic disk, along
with other disturbed outer structures. NGC 2685 is about 50,000
light-years across and 40 million light-years away in the
constellation Ursa Major.
