Sunny Priyan
Named NGC 685, this galaxy is situated about 64 million light-years away in the constellation Eridanus (the River).
Credit: ESA/Hubble
NGC 685 is a barred spiral because its feathery spiral arms sprout from the ends of a bar of stars at the galaxy’s center.
Credit: ESA/Hubble
The Milky Way is also a barred spiral, but our galaxy is a little less than twice the size of NGC 685.
Image Credit: Pixabay
Astronomers used Hubble to study NGC 685’s star formation, revealing young blue stars lighting up its spiral arms.
Image Credit: Pixabay
NGC 685’s image shows glowing pink H II regions where massive stars form, yet the galaxy creates less than half a Sun’s mass in new stars annually.
Image Credit: Pixabay
Hubble’s data, combined with Webb and ALMA observations, will help catalog tens of thousands of star clusters and H II regions, revealing stars forming deep within dusty nurseries.
Credit: ESA/Hubble