Astronomers call galaxy NGC 3718 a peculiar galaxy because it defies simple classification. A dark dust lane fans out radially from the galaxyΓÇÖs center and extends beyond the galactic body in two tenuous spiral arms. The impression is not unlike that of an exotic dancer, trailing scarves in the breeze.
Without the dust lane, however, NGC 3718 looks like a typical transition galaxy; in evolutionary terms, a transition galaxy stands directly between a spiral and an elliptical. There is no evidence of dust, nor are new stars forming. Note the three different luminosity zones in this region: bright (in the center), intermediate, and a faint outer envelope.
