[NASA] Hubble Spots a Starry Spiral

[SpaceMan 0]

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

ESA/Hubble & NASA, D. Thilker and the PHANGS-HST Team

In this new picture from NASA’s 

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

, a spiral galaxy glittering with star clusters is the center of attention. NGC 3137 is located 53 million light-years away in the constellation Antlia (the Air Pump). As a nearby spiral galaxy, this target offers astronomers an excellent opportunity to study the cycle of stellar birth and death, as well as giving researchers a glimpse of a galactic system similar to our own.

NGC 3137 is of particular interest to astronomers because it travels through space with a group of galaxies that is thought to be similar to the Local Group, the galaxy group that contains our Milky Way. Similar to the Local Group, the NGC 3175 group contains two large spiral galaxies: NGC 3137 and NGC 3175, which 

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

. In the Local Group, the largest members are the Milky Way galaxy and Andromeda, another spiral galaxy. In addition to two large spiral galaxies, both groups also contain a number of smaller dwarf galaxies, although it’s not yet known how many of these tiny companions the NGC 3175 group has; researchers have found more than 500 dwarf galaxy candidates. By studying this nearby galaxy group, astronomers can learn about the dynamics of our own galactic home.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

.

Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, D. Thilker and the PHANGS-HST Team

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up