Jairo Mendez-Abreu

The complexity of the shapes and structures found within spiral galaxies has fascinated astronomers for decades, and is a key to the understanding of their evolution. One example of this complexity is the galaxy NGC 1291. The French astronomer Gerard de Vaucouleurs discovered in this galaxy for the first time a system in which there are two stellar bars, and he identified a pattern, which he termed “lens-bar-nucleus”, which is repeated in the outer and the inner part of the galaxy. This structure in the form of a Russian doll composed of two bars is basic for understanding the internal evolution of the galaxies, and how they fuel the supermassive black holes at their centres. It is in this same galaxy where it has been shown for the first time that there is a peanut-shaped structure in the inner bar. These structures are caused by vertical motions of the stars in the bar, and they are so called because of their boxy or peanut shape when the galaxy is observed sideways on. However until now this type of structures had been detected only in the outer bars of double-barred galaxies, or in individual bars such as that in the Milky Way. Read More Check the artistic animation of this result