Swanson, Alaina M2022-08-102022-08-102022-07https://hdl.handle.net/11299/231047A paper submitted to the faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Minnesota by Alaina M. Swanson in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science, July 2022.Ring galaxies are among the most perplexing phenomena we observe in space. Their formation has remained a topic of debate, especially since 1950 when Arthur Hoag discovered Hoag’s Object. Hoag-like objects are exceedingly rare and the ring galaxy WISEA J234255.19-354810.2 has the potential to be the 16th Hoag-type galaxy discovered. I performed two types of data analysis to obtain information about the galactic light profiles. From this analysis, I discovered a very faint bar structure within the core of the ring galaxy, which indicates that WISEA J234255.19-354810.2 is not a Hoag-type galaxy.Plan Bs (project-based master's degrees)Master of ScienceMaster of Science in PhysicsDepartment of Physics and AstronomySwenson College of Science and EngineeringUniversity of Minnesota DuluthScholarly Text or Essay