The galaxy NGC 3310 is a member of a rare class known as "starburst" galaxies, which blaze with extremely active star formation.
There are several hundred star clusters in NGC 3310, visible in this Hubble image as the bright blue, diffuse objects that trace the galaxy's spiral arms. Each of these star clusters represents the formation of up to about a million stars, a process that takes less than 100,000 years. In addition, hundreds of individual young, luminous stars can be seen throughout the galaxy.
Once formed, the star clusters become redder with age as the most massive and bluest stars exhaust their fuel and burn out. Measurements in this image of the wide range of cluster colors show that they have ages ranging from about one million up to more than one hundred million years. This suggests that the starburst "turned on" over 100 million years ago.
For more information, visit: hubblesite.org/image/1094/news_release/2001-26
Credit: NASA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA);
Acknowledgment: G.R. Meurer and T.M. Heckman (JHU), C. Leitherer, J. Harris, and D. Calzetti (STScI), and M. Sirianni (JHU)
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In this Hubble Space Telescope image of NGC 7479, also known as Caldwell 44, the tightly wound arms of the spiral galaxy create an inverted "S," as they spin in a counter-clockwise direction. However, this galaxy, sometimes nicknamed the Propeller Galaxy, emits a jet of radiation that bends in the opposite direction to the stars and dust in the arms of the galaxy. Astronomers think that the radio jet in NGC 7479 was put into its bizarre backward spin following a merger with another galaxy.
NGC 7479 is undergoing starburst activity, with many bright, young stars visible in the spiral arms and disk. The three brightest stars in this image, however, are foreground stars — caught on camera because they lie between the galaxy and Hubble.
For more information, visit: www.spacetelescope.org/images/potw1125a/
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA
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This spectacular image taken with the Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys shows the unusual barred spiral galaxy NGC 4921 glowing against the backdrop of more distant galaxies.
NGC 4921 is one of the brighter members of the Coma Cluster of galaxies, located in the constellation Coma Berenices. It is about 320 million light-years distant. While the galaxy has a nucleus and an inner bar structure that is surrounded by a distinct ring of dust and young blue stars, the outer parts of the galaxy do not evidence distinct spiral arms, or star-forming regions.
Astronomers have identified that NGC 4921 is both low in hydrogen and that the distribution of this usually abundant gas within the galaxy is not uniform. It is thought that this is due to interaction with the intergalactic medium, which is stripping off the gas.
For more information, visit: www.spacetelescope.org/images/heic0901a/
Credit: NASA, ESA, and K. Cook (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory)
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Located in the constellation Virgo, galaxy Messier 86 (M86) is situated near the heart of the large Virgo cluster of galaxies. Astronomers classify it either an elliptical or a lenticular galaxy (a cross between an elliptical and spiral). This Hubble image is a combination of exposures taken in near-infrared and visible light using the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 and the Advanced Camera for Surveys. While showcasing only about half the galaxy, it includes the bright central nucleus and a portion of its immense surrounding halo. The image also reveals some of M86’s estimated 3,800 globular clusters, seen as bright specks of light.
The majority of the galaxies in the Virgo cluster are receding from the Milky Way. M86, however, is moving toward our galaxy. This is because M86 is located on the far side of the Virgo cluster from us and is moving toward the center of the cluster.
For more information, visit: www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2018/messier-86
Credit: NASA, ESA, STScI, S. Faber (University of California, Santa Cruz), and P. Côté (Dominion Astrophysical Observatory)
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This majestic spiral galaxy, nicknamed "Rubin's Galaxy" after astronomer Vera Rubin, may be the largest known in the local universe. The galaxy, UGC 2885, is 2.5 times wider than our Milky Way and contains 10 times as many stars.
The galaxy looks like it has been sitting quietly over billions of years, possibly sipping hydrogen from the filamentary structure of intergalactic space. This fuels modest ongoing star birth at half the rate of our Milky Way.
A number of foreground stars in our Milky Way can be seen in the image, identified by their x-shaped diffraction spikes. The brightest appears to sit on top of the galaxy's disk, though UGC 2885 is really 232 million light-years farther away.
For more information, visit: hubblesite.org/contents/news-releases/2020/news-2020-1
Credit: NASA, ESA, and B. Holwerda (University of Louisville)
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