Description from Nasa.com:
Why is there a line segment on the sky? In one of the more precise alignments known in the universe, what is pictured above is actually a disk galaxy being seen almost perfectly edge on. The image from the Hubble Space Telescope is a spectacular visual reminder of just how thin disk galaxies can be. NGC 4452, a galaxy in the nearby Virgo Cluster of Galaxies, is so thin that it is actually difficult to determine what type of disk galaxy it is. Its lack of a visible dust lane indicates that it is a low-dust lenticular galaxy, although it is still possible that a view from on top would reveal spiral structure. The unusual stellar line segment spans about 35,000 light years from end to end. Near NGC 4452’s center is a slight bulge of stars, while hundreds of background galaxies are visible far in the distance. Galaxies that appear this thin are rare mostly because our Earth must reside (nearly) in the extrapolated planes of their thin galactic disks. Galaxies that actually are this thin are relatively common — for example our own Milky Way Galaxy is thought to be about this thin.
From the same site Amanada quoted:
What could form the bulging center and spinning arms of a lenticular spiral? Only a huge mass around which the entire galaxy was rotating. A mass sufficiently large to do that could only be a black hole.
Thanks to Hubble, we now know all spirals hide a massive black hole at their center. Our Milky Way galaxy has a black hole equal to four billion solar masses at its center. In fact, it appears the majority of galaxies have a black hole at their center.
In fact, there is controversy among astrophysicists as to whether black holes create galaxies, or galaxies create black holes.
here is a little extra description of the type of galaxy this likely is. the info is from here:
http://www.brighthub.com/science/space/articles/61734.aspx
“The typical spiral consists of a central disk with two or more spiral arms rotating around the disk. These are called ‘lenticular’ galaxies because the central disk is shaped like a magnifying class. Then there are barred spirals. They may have different origins.
All the spirals have spiral arms, but some have arms so tightly wound around the central core they appear almost like elliptical galaxies, which have no spiral arms. There are four basic types of lenticular spirals. [there are illustrations at the link.]
There are actually two subtypes of SOs
• S01—lenticular with no visible spiral arms.
• S03—lenticular with a lot of light absorbing dust.
• Sa—tightly wound, smooth arms.
• Sb—more defined arms.
• Sc—more loosely wound, clearly defined arms.
And there is one more type of lenticular:
• Sd—very loose arms; the arms are much brighter than the core.
Very often, from ground based telescopes, only the arms can be seen, and this type appears to a viewer as another type of galaxy.”
http://www.planetwaves.net/spiraldoor/2007/horoscopes/
Here is a diversity of galaxy types, visible from other angles than straight on. Milky Way is the ‘spiral barred’ galaxy, which is the Pisces illustration (lower right).
This is from the 2007 annual edition, The Spiral Door.
It is thin from this perspective. From other perspectives it is a spiral.
Hmmm. Maybe Stanley Kubrick’s vision in “2001 Space Odyssey” wasn’t so far-fetched…