Astronomy is constantly   improving , and for this reason it is deserving always let   a Modern face at old and conversant objects . And UGC 1382 is one such object . A seemingly tiresome small elliptical galaxy discovered in the 1960s , it turns out it is neither small nor oviform and definitely not dull .

Using a serial publication of multiwavelength survey , astronomers discovered that UGC 1382 , which is 250 million lite - age from us , is actually a spiral galaxy stretching over 718,000 light - years , more than   seven times wider than the Milky Way .

" We meet spiral arms extending far outside this coltsfoot , which no one had noticed before , and which elliptical coltsfoot should not have , " said Lea Hagen , who execute the study , in astatement . " That put us on an expedition to find out what this galaxy is and how it form . "

This conduce the team to make an salient discovery : UGC 1382 has take form the wrong means round .

" The mall of UGC 1382 is actually young than the whorled disk surrounding it , " said study atomic number 27 - author Mark Seibert .   " It ’s old on the outside and immature on the interior . This is like finding a Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree whose inner growth ring are unseasoned than the proscribed ring . "

beetleweed ordinarily form from the inside out , with the core being made   first and the spiral arms take form afterwards . A galax merger is the most likely explanation for UGC 1382 ’s curious composition ; the wandflower is really made of distinct parts that just came together billion eld ago .

" This rare , ' Frankenstein ' galaxy formed and is able to survive because it lies in a quiet little suburban neighborhood of the universe , where none of the katzenjammer of the more crowded function can bother it , " Seibert said .   " It is so delicate that a slight nudge from a neighbor would cause it to disintegrate . "

The full discovery is go to be published in the Astrophysical journal , and a pre - print   is availableonline . UGC 1382 is now part of a class of galaxy called abject - surface brightness , and although our instruments are getting better atdetecting them , many more might be enshroud in plain sight .

" By understanding this galaxy , we can get clues to how galaxies take shape on a large musical scale , and unveil more galactic neighbourhood surprise , " Hagen said .