NGC 1532

Just 6 hours of LRGB integration from the dark skies of Chile's Atacama Desert (Telescope Network). NGC 1532 is a large spiral galaxy seen almost edge-on, located in the constellation Eridanus, approximately 60 million light-years away. This galaxy is particularly interesting for two distinct phenomena: 1. Gravitational interaction: NGC 1532 is interacting with its smaller companion, NGC 1531, whose tidal influence has distorted the spiral structure and may have contributed to enhanced star formation. 2. Magnetized galactic wind: A recent study by Matthews et al. (2025), based on MeerKAT radio observations, revealed extensive magnetized structures reaching approximately 10 kiloparsecs beyond the galactic disk. These outflows may be driven primarily by cosmic-ray pressure associated with star formation, rather than directly by the gravitational interaction. Two fascinating phenomena occurring in the same galaxy, but not necessarily sharing the same physical origin! Reference: Matthews, A. M., et al. (2025), A Galactic-scale Magnetized Wind around a Normal Star-forming Galaxy, The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 978, L25. DOI: 10.3847/2041-8213/ada252 (arXiv: 2412.03785).