Cartwheel Galaxy
A popular name for a peculiar galaxy, 500 million light years away, otherwise known as A0035. It consists of a circular rim, 170,000 light years in diameter, inside which are a hub and spokes made up of old red stars. It is believed that the galaxy was once a normal large spiral galaxy through which a smaller galaxy passed a few hundred million years ago. The intruder can still be seen near by. The shock of the collision caused the formation of large numbers of massive stars in the "rim". As a result, the rate at which supernovae occur now is about a hundred times greater than in a normal galaxy.