Hubble captures barred spiral galaxy NGC 685

NGC 685 takes middle stage amid faintly twinkling stars on an inky black background. This galaxy is clearly a barred spiral galaxy with its shiny middle bar and patchy, curving arms. It’s about 58 million light-years away within the constellation Eridanus. NGC 685 lies south of the celestial equator and is seen from the southern hemisphere at sure occasions of the yr.

British astronomer John Herschel found NGC 685 in 1834, and early observers famous its obvious roundness. The entire galaxy is about 60,000 light-years throughout—somewhat greater than half the scale of our Milky Way. The patches of shiny blue alongside the galaxy’s arms are star clusters, teams of stars held collectively by their mutual gravitational attraction. Wisps of darkish crimson close to the central bar depict interstellar fuel and dust, the matter from which stars type. About two-thirds of all spiral galaxies have a central bar like NGC 685. Its intense glow comes from many stars concentrated in a comparatively small space.

NASA’s Hubble House Telescope took this picture as a part of a scientific effort to check star cluster formation and evolution. Hubble’s ultraviolet capabilities are well-suited to this activity, since younger stars shine brightly at ultraviolet wavelengths. A mean-sized galaxy like NGC 685 can have round 100 million stars, which is on the low finish.