NGC 5291 is part of a group of interacting galactic structures resulting from a cosmic collision in the distant past. Apart from the central Elliptical Galaxy and the spiralling curl that gives the Seashell its name, the group also contains a shattered dwarf galaxy extending out from the central grouping.
This image is centred on the Seashell formation itself, a spiral galaxy twisted and elongated into a seashell shape by the gravitational forces of the nearby massiveelliptical, also designated NGC 5291. (The small Seashell Galaxy itself is properly PGC 48894, but in practice this interacting pair are commonly jointly described as NGC 5291.) Imagery provided by Aladin sky atlas
A small cluster of galaxies near the northern border of Centaurus. It consists of a system of interacting galaxies designated NGC 5291, with the 'seashell' structure lying very close to a more massiveelliptical galaxy. The gravitational force of its larger neighbour has stretched it into a tapering spiral shape, like that of a seashell.
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