# Backward spinning Galaxy **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 26, 2002, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backward-spinning-galaxy/134013 "2002-10-26T19:34:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Patricinus\_Scriblerus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f07891/32.png) [@Patricinus\_Scriblerus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patricinus_Scriblerus)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2002, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backward-spinning-galaxy/134013/1 "2002-10-26T19:34:12Z")
Back in February Nasa announced that Hubble had identified a ‘backwards’ spinning galaxy. Nasa claims that is is spinning clockwise. A few questions here. Why is it so odd ? Couldn’t we just be looking at it from the wrong perspective? (depending on your vantage point it MAY be spinning anti-clockwise) Before you even ask… you can check it out [here](http://hubblesite.org/news_.and._views/pr.cgi.2002+03) ---
**Author:** ![Lazlo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lazlo/32/9678_2.png) [@Lazlo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lazlo)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2002, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backward-spinning-galaxy/134013/2 "2002-10-26T19:51:12Z")
[They pretty much answered those questions on their site.](http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/pr/2002/03/faq.html) ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2002, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backward-spinning-galaxy/134013/3 "2002-10-26T21:23:44Z")
It’s anti-matter. Yeah, that’s the ticket. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2002, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backward-spinning-galaxy/134013/4 "2002-10-26T23:43:00Z")
It’s not so much that the galaxy appears to be spinning clockwise, it’s that the galaxy’s “arms” are moving foreward, instead of trailing behind the rotation as all other spiral galaxies appear to do. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2002, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backward-spinning-galaxy/134013/5 "2002-10-27T00:49:27Z")
Actually, only SOME of the spiral arms are pointing in the wrong directions. Others are lagging behind the direction of spin as you’d expect. Look [here](http://imgsrc.stsci.edu/op/pubinfo/pr/2002/03/content/0203y.jpg) where you can see much finer details. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2002, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backward-spinning-galaxy/134013/6 "2002-10-27T01:00:29Z")
**AHunter3** , what exactly am I supposed to be picking out in that image? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2002, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backward-spinning-galaxy/134013/7 "2002-10-27T01:13:52Z")
Look in the upper left 1/4 of the picture and you can see some smaller arms forming that are trailing behind a clockwise rotation (and therefore bridging the gaps between the more imposing arms). I’m no physicist, but I’d imagine that we’re actually looking at two galaxies merging / superimposed on each other, “vertically” from our perspective, spinning in opposite directions, one with considerably more prominent spiral arms than the other, and that they are starting to disrupt each other as they merge. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2002, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backward-spinning-galaxy/134013/8 "2002-10-27T03:31:12Z")
Oh. OK. I hate space. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![RM\_Mentock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@RM\_Mentock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RM_Mentock)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2002, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backward-spinning-galaxy/134013/9 "2002-10-27T12:36:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Anthracite \* > \*\*Oh. OK. > > I hate space. ☹ \*\* Why? What’s the matter? ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2002, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backward-spinning-galaxy/134013/10 "2002-10-27T13:33:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RM Mentock \* > \*\* > Why? What’s the matter? \*\* Long story. Not relevant to here. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2002, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backward-spinning-galaxy/134013/11 "2002-10-27T14:18:39Z")
There is more detailed information [here](http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020125.html) and the links within, especially [this one](http://bama.ua.edu/~rbuta/ngc4622/). ---
**Author:** ![kniz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c37758/32.png) [@kniz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kniz)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2002, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/backward-spinning-galaxy/134013/12 "2002-10-27T22:33:28Z")
[ul]😉 [sup]Just one more proof that you can’t say “Seen one, seen them all.”[/sup][/ul]