Astronomers working with the Hubble telescope have published a new image. It shows the beautiful spiral galaxy NGC 3507.
NGC 3507 is located 46 million light-years away from Earth toward the constellation Leo. It is classified as a spiral galaxy with a bar. This means that its spiral arms “grow” from the ends of a structure of gas and bright stars passing through the center.
The spiral arms of NGC 3507 are studded with a large number of young star clusters. So far, astronomers have identified more than 90 such structures. The Hubble image also shows pink spots corresponding to regions of active star formation, as well as dark dust lanes.
The core of NGC 3507 shows activity indicating that it contains a supermassive black hole. As for the rate of star formation, it is small. NGC 3507 gives birth to two stars per year with a mass equivalent to that of the Sun.
Although NGC 3507 is pictured here alone, it is actually traveling through the Universe with a galactic partner named NGC 3501, which is outside the frame. If NGC 3507 is the quintessential galactic wheel, its partner looks like a narrow strip in the sky. But even though they look completely different, both galaxies are spiral galaxies, it’s just that we see them from different angles.
By astronomical standards, NGC 3507 is a galaxy close to us. This is why the Hubble image is so detailed and allows us to see its structure in great detail. However, the same is not true for the more distant background galaxies, which can also be seen in this image. They are usually orange or yellow in color and can range from round and star-like to narrow and elongated, with hints of spiral arms.
In addition to NGC 3507 and distant background galaxies, the image also shows a much closer object located in our Milky Way: a star just 436 light-years from Earth. In the image, it is just below and to the right of the core of NGC 3507, and can be identified by the presence of four diffraction beams.
Earlier we reported on how the James Webb Telescope photographed the most distant galaxy in the Universe.
According to Esahubble
