Hubble Sees Pinwheel of Star Birth
NASA image release October 19, 2010
Though the universe is chock full of spiral-shaped galaxies, no two look exactly the same. This face-on spiral galaxy, called NGC 3982, is striking for its rich tapestry of star birth, along with its winding arms. The arms are lined with pink star-forming regions of glowing hydrogen, newborn blue star clusters, and obscuring dust lanes that provide the raw material for future generations of stars. The bright nucleus is home to an older population of stars, which grow ever more densely packed toward the center.
NGC 3982 is located about 68 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. The galaxy spans about 30,000 light-years, one-third of the size of our Milky Way galaxy. This color image is composed of exposures taken by the Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2), the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), and the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). The observations were taken between March 2000 and August 2009. The rich color range comes from the fact that the galaxy was photographed invisible and near-infrared light. Also used was a filter that isolates hydrogen emission that emanates from bright star-forming regions dotting the spiral arms.
The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. in Washington, D.C.
Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
Acknowledgment: A. Riess (STScI)
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.
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Comments and faves
Raymond Larose, Rodney A. Johnson, Tatters:), D' Contreras (ILEXPHOTO), and 143 other people added this photo to their favorites.
Toño Gilabert (31 months ago | reply)
espectacular!
khuntu2001 (31 months ago | reply)
wow
Raymond Larose (31 months ago | reply)
Just amazing!! I love this image - will be sad to see Hubble go away.
*E J* [deleted] (31 months ago | reply)
Unbelievable image, thank you for that!
Shamrockah (31 months ago | reply)
Beautiful!!
Lizzie~Belle (31 months ago | reply)
Wow. Our universe is such an amazing place. :)
SweetBiscuit22 (31 months ago | reply)
Amazing indeed
fourdollared [deleted] (31 months ago | reply)
It looks so similar to the planet I recently observed:
StephenSEUK (31 months ago | reply)
Just awesome - the wonders of our universe are amazing!
jamieball833 (31 months ago | reply)
Wow! It is so beautiful
ivanneth (31 months ago | reply)
gorgeous...
Atsah Images (31 months ago | reply)
This is fantastic.
jmeoli_sya (31 months ago | reply)
Art in nature...
contiflex [deleted] (31 months ago | reply)
Thank you so much for providing these amazing images.
1 Mozart Luvr (31 months ago | reply)
Thanks to NASA & Hubble for all these spectacular images..!
gordonel (31 months ago | reply)
Simply amazing.
Dinesh Govinnage (31 months ago | reply)
If I'm right we see 30,000 light-years old galaxy !At present it is so different than what we seen in this picture. how interesting is that ?
sean pics (31 months ago | reply)
Amazing image
MarkLandonPhotography (31 months ago | reply)
stunning shot.
Paul J Nelson (31 months ago | reply)
~~~~~~~Congratulations!!~~~~~~~
.*~*~*~*~Golden 19 Award~*~*~*~*.
Andrea Malnar Photography (31 months ago | reply)
Wow, awesome image, congratulations on taking this one!
pixiespark (29 months ago | reply)
Fabulous, so beautiful!
marcellucray (28 months ago | reply)
marvellous.......
annareprogel (3 months ago | reply)
Overwhelmingly breathtaking...
DRos01 (3 months ago | reply)
Raise your eyes high up and see. Who has created these things?It is the One who is bringing forth the army of them even by number, all of whom he calls even by name.
Due to the abundance of dynamic energy,, he also being vigorous in power,
not one of them is missing. Isaiah 40:26
bennotb (5 weeks ago | reply)
I wish, i could be there one day, but for one reason; to prove how wonderful space is.