Hubble Examines Low Brightness, High Interest GalaxyThis NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image zooms in on the feathery spiral arms of the galaxy NGC 45, which lies just 22 million light-years away in the constellation Cetus (the Whale).
The portrait uses data drawn from two complementary observing programs. The first took a broad view of 50 nearby galaxies, leveraging Hubble’s ability to observe ultraviolet through visible into near-infrared light to study star formation in these galaxies. The second program examined many of the same nearby galaxies as the first, narrowing in on a particular wavelength of red light called H-alpha. Star-forming [nebulae](https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/multimedia/hubble-glossary/#h-nebula) are powerful producers of H-alpha light, and several of these regions are visible across NGC 45 as bright pink-red patches.
These observing programs aimed to study star formation in galaxies of different sizes, structures, and degrees of isolation — and NGC 45 is a particularly interesting target. Though it may appear to be a regular spiral galaxy, NGC 45 is a remarkable type called a low surface brightness galaxy.
Low surface brightness galaxies are fainter than the night sky itself, making them incredibly difficult to detect. They appear unexpectedly faint because they have relatively few stars for the volume of gas and dark matter they carry. In the decades since astronomers serendipitously discovered the first low surface brightness galaxy in 1986, researchers have learned that 30–60% of all galaxies may fall into this category. Studying these hard-to-detect galaxies is key to understanding how galaxies form and evolve, and Hubble’s sensitive instruments are equal to the task.https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/hubble-examines-low-brightness-high-interest-galaxy/
White Dwarf Merger Illustration 4This is an illustration of a white dwarf star merging with a red giant star. A bow shock forms as the dwarf plunges through the star's outer atmosphere. The passage strips down the white dwarf's outer layers, exposing an interior carbon core.
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Hubble Captures Puzzling GalaxyThis NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features a galaxy that’s hard to categorize. The galaxy in question is NGC 2775, which lies 67 million light-years away in the constellation Cancer (the Crab). NGC 2775 sports a smooth, featureless center that is devoid of gas, resembling an elliptical galaxy. It also has a dusty ring with patchy star clusters, like a spiral galaxy. Which is it: spiral or elliptical — or neither?
Because we can only view NGC 2775 from one angle, it’s difficult to say for sure. Some researchers classify NGC 2775 as a spiral galaxy because of its feathery ring of stars and dust, while others classify it as a lenticular galaxy. Lenticular galaxies have features common to both spiral and elliptical galaxies.
Astronomers aren’t certain of exactly how lenticular galaxies come to be, and they might form in a variety of ways. Lenticular galaxies might be spiral galaxies that merged with other galaxies, or that have mostly run out of star-forming gas and lost their prominent spiral arms. They also might have started out more like elliptical galaxies, then collected gas into a disk around them.
Some evidence suggests that NGC 2775 merged with other galaxies in the past. Invisible in this Hubble image, NGC 2775 has a tail of hydrogen gas that stretches almost 100,000 light-years around the galaxy. This faint tail could be the remnant of one or more galaxies that wandered too close to NGC 2775 before being stretched apart and absorbed. If NGC 2775 merged with other galaxies in the past, it could explain the galaxy’s strange appearance today.
Most astronomers classify NGC 2775 as a flocculent spiral galaxy. Flocculent spirals have poorly defined, discontinuous arms that are often described as “feathery” or as “tufts” of stars that loosely form spiral arms.
Hubble previously released an image of NGC 2775 in [2020](https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/hubble-spots-feathered-spiral/). This new version adds observations of a specific wavelength of red light emitted by clouds of hydrogen gas surrounding massive young stars, visible as bright, pinkish clumps in the image. This additional wavelength of light helps astronomers better define where new stars are forming in the galaxy.This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features the galaxy NGC 2775.
ESA/Hubble & NASA, F. Belfiore, J. Lee and the PHANGS-HST Teamhttps://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/hubble-captures-puzzling-galaxy/
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Hubble Images Celestial Cigar’s Smoldering HeartThis NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features the central region of spiral galaxy Messier 82.
ESA/Hubble & NASA, W. D. VaccaThis NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image reveals new details in Messier 82 (M82), home to brilliant stars whose light is shaded by sculptural clouds made of clumps and streaks of dust and gas. This image features the star-powered heart of the galaxy, located just 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major (the Great Bear). Popularly known as the Cigar Galaxy, M82 is considered a nearby galaxy.
It’s no surprise that M82 is packed with stars. The galaxy forms stars 10 times faster than the Milky Way. Astronomers call it a starburst galaxy. The intense starbirth period that grips this galaxy gave rise to super star clusters in the galaxy’s heart. Each of these super star clusters holds hundreds of thousands of stars and is more luminous than a typical star cluster. Researchers used Hubble to home in on these massive clusters and reveal how they form and evolve.
Hubble’s previous views of the galaxy captured ultraviolet and visible light in [2012](https://science.nasa.gov/image-detail/smoke-without-fire-a-different-view-of-the-cigar-galaxy/) and near-infrared and visible light in [2006](https://science.nasa.gov/asset/hubble/happy-sweet-sixteen-hubble-telescope-starburst-galaxy-m82/) to celebrate Hubble’s 16th anniversary. NASA’s [Chandra X-ray Observatory](https://science.nasa.gov/mission/chandra/) and [Spitzer Space Telescope](https://science.nasa.gov/mission/spitzer/) also imaged this starburst galaxy. Combining the [visible and near-infrared light Hubble data](https://science.nasa.gov/asset/hubble/happy-sweet-sixteen-hubble-telescope-starburst-galaxy-m82/) with [Chandra’s x-ray](https://science.nasa.gov/asset/hubble/m82-chandra-x-ray/) and [Spitzer’s deeper infrared view](https://science.nasa.gov/asset/hubble/m82-spitzer-infrared/) provides a [detailed look](https://science.nasa.gov/asset/hubble/m82-great-observatories-chandraspitzerhubble-annotated/) at the galaxy’s stars, along with the dust and gas from which stars form. More recently the NASA/ESA/CSA [James Webb Space Telescope](https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/) turned its eye toward the galaxy, producing infrared images in [2024](https://science.nasa.gov/missions/webb/nasas-webb-probes-an-extreme-starburst-galaxy/) and [earlier this year](https://esawebb.org/images/potm2506a/). These multiple views at different wavelengths of light provide us with a more accurate and complete picture of this galaxy so that we can better understand its environment. Each of these NASA observatories delivers unique and complementary information about the galaxy’s physical processes. Combining their data yields insights that enhance our understanding in a way that no single observatory could accomplish alone. This image features something not seen in previously released Hubble images of the galaxy: data from the High Resolution Channel of the [Advanced Camera for Surveys](https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/observatory/design/advanced-camera-for-surveys/).
Explore Morhttps://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/hubble-images-celestial-cigars-smoldering-heart/
White Dwarf Accreting Icy Object (Illustration)This artist's concept shows a white dwarf surrounded by a large debris disk. Debris from pieces of a captured, Pluto-like object is falling onto the white dwarf.https://science.nasa.gov/asset/hubble/white-dwarf-accreting-icy-object-illustration/
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Hubble Images Celestial Cigar’s Smoldering HeartThis NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image reveals new details in Messier 82 (M82), home to brilliant stars whose light is shaded by sculptural clouds made of clumps and streaks of dust and gas. This image features the star-powered heart of the galaxy, located just 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major (the Great Bear). Popularly known as the Cigar Galaxy, M82 is considered a nearby galaxy.
It’s no surprise that M82 is packed with stars. The galaxy forms stars 10 times faster than the Milky Way. Astronomers call it a starburst galaxy. The intense starbirth period that grips this galaxy gave rise to super star clusters in the galaxy’s heart. Each of these super star clusters holds hundreds of thousands of stars and is more luminous than a typical star cluster. Researchers used Hubble to home in on these massive clusters and reveal how they form and evolve.
Hubble’s previous views of the galaxy captured ultraviolet and visible light in 2012 and near-infrared and visible light in 2006 to celebrate Hubble’s 16th anniversary. NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and Spitzer Space Telescope also imaged this starburst galaxy. Combining the visible and near-infrared light Hubble data with Chandra’s x-ray and Spitzer’s deeper infrared view provides a detailed look at the galaxy’s stars, along with the dust and gas from which stars form. More recently the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope turned its eye toward the galaxy, producing infrared images in 2024 and earlier this year. These multiple views at different wavelengths of light provide us with a more accurate and complete picture of this galaxy so that we can better understand its environment. Each of these NASA observatories delivers unique and complementary information about the galaxy’s physical processes. Combining their data yields insights that enhance our understanding in a way that no single observatory could accomplish alone. This image features something not seen in previously released Hubble images of the galaxy: data from the High Resolution Channel of the Advanced Camera for Surveys.This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features the central region of spiral galaxy Messier 82.
ESA/Hubble & NASA, W. D. Vacca
This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope features the galaxy NGC 7456.
ESA/Hubble & NASA, D. ThilkerWhile it may appear as just another spiral galaxy among billions in the universe, this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope reveals a galaxy with plenty to study. The galaxy, NGC 7456, is located over 51 million light-years away in the constellation Grus (the Crane).
This Hubble image reveals fine detail in the galaxy’s patchy spiral arms, followed by clumps of dark, obscuring dust. Blossoms of glowing pink are rich reservoirs of gas where new stars are forming, illuminating the clouds around them and causing the gas to emit this tell-tale red light. The Hubble observing program that collected this data focused on the galaxy’s stellar activity, tracking new stars, clouds of hydrogen, and star clusters to learn how the galaxy evolved through time.
Hubble, with its ability to capture visible, ultraviolet, and some infrared light, is not the only observatory focused on NGC 7456. ESA’s XMM-Newton satellite imaged X-rays from the galaxy on multiple occasions, discovering many so-called ultraluminous X-ray sources. These small, compact objects emit terrifically powerful X-rays, much more than researchers would expect, given their size. Astronomers are still trying to pin down what powers these extreme objects, and NGC 7456 contributes a few more examples.
The region around the galaxy’s supermassive black hole is also spectacularly bright and energetic, making NGC 7456 an active galaxy. Whether looking at its core or its outskirts, at visible light or X-rays, this galaxy has something interesting for astronomers to study!https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/hubble-spies-galaxy-with-lots-to-see/
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Hubble Surveys Cloudy ClusterThis new NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features a cloudy starscape from an impressive star cluster. This scene is in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy situated about 160,000 light-years away in the constellations Dorado and Mensa. With a mass equal to 10–20% of the mass of the Milky Way, the Large Magellanic Cloud is the largest of the dozens of small galaxies that orbit our galaxy.
The Large Magellanic Cloud is home to several massive stellar nurseries where gas clouds, like those strewn across this image, coalesce into new stars. Today’s image depicts a portion of the galaxy’s second-largest star-forming region, which is called N11. (The most massive and prolific star-forming region in the Large Magellanic Cloud, the [Tarantula Nebula](https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/science/explore-the-night-sky/hubble-caldwell-catalog/caldwell-103/), is a frequent target for Hubble.) We see bright, young stars lighting up the gas clouds and sculpting clumps of dust with powerful ultraviolet radiation.
This image marries observations made roughly 20 years apart, a testament to Hubble’s longevity. The first set of observations, which were carried out in 2002–2003, capitalized on the exquisite sensitivity and resolution of the then-newly-installed [Advanced Camera for Surveys](https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/observatory/design/advanced-camera-for-surveys/). Astronomers turned Hubble toward the N11 star cluster to do something that had never been done before at the time: catalog all the stars in a young cluster with masses between 10% of the Sun’s mass and 100 times the Sun’s mass.
The second set of observations came from Hubble’s newest camera, the Wide Field Camera 3. These images focused on the dusty clouds that permeate the cluster, providing us with a new perspective on cosmic dust.This new NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features the nebula LMC N44C.
ESA/Hubble & NASA, C. Murray, J. Maíz Apellánizhttps://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/hubble-surveys-cloudy-cluster/
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Hubble Homes in on Galaxy’s Star FormationThis NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features a galaxy whose asymmetric appearance may be the result of a galactic tug of war. Located 35 million light-years away in the constellation Leo, the spiral galaxy Messier 96 is the brightest of the galaxies in its group. The gravitational pull of its galactic neighbors may be responsible for Messier 96’s uneven distribution of gas and dust, asymmetric spiral arms, and off-center galactic core.
This asymmetric appearance is on full display in the new Hubble image that incorporates data from observations made in ultraviolet, near infrared, and visible/optical light. Earlier Hubble images of Messier 96 were released in [2015](https://science.nasa.gov/image-detail/a-galactic-maelstrom-2/) and [2018](https://science.nasa.gov/image-detail/amf-6f64bd7b-8113-4ca6-9b9b-504eb1546b6d/). Each successive image added new data, building up a beautiful and scientifically valuable view of the galaxy.
The 2015 image combined two wavelengths of optical light with one near infrared wavelength. The optical light revealed the galaxy’s uneven form of dust and gas spread asymmetrically throughout its weak spiral arms and its off-center core, while the infrared light revealed the heat of stars forming in clouds shaded pink in the image.
The 2018 image added two more optical wavelengths of light along with one wavelength of ultraviolet light that pinpointed areas where high-energy, young stars are forming.
This latest version offers us a new perspective on Messier 96’s star formation. It includes the addition of light that reveals regions of ionized hydrogen (H-alpha) and nitrogen (NII). This data helps astronomers determine the environment within the galaxy and the conditions in which stars are forming. The ionized hydrogen traces ongoing star formation, revealing regions where hot, young stars are [ionizing](https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/multimedia/hubble-glossary/#h-ionization) the gas. The ionized nitrogen helps astronomers determine the rate of star formation and the properties of gas between stars, while the combination of the two ionized gasses helps researchers determine if the galaxy is a [starburst galaxy](https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/multimedia/hubble-glossary/#h-starburst-galaxy) or one with an [active galactic nucleus](https://science.nasa.gov/mission/hubble/multimedia/hubble-glossary/#h-active-galactic-nuclei-agn).
The bubbles of pink gas in this image surround hot, young, massive stars, illuminating a ring of star formation in the galaxy's outskirts. These young stars are still embedded within the clouds of gas from which they were born. Astronomers will use the new data in this image to study how stars are form within giant dusty gas clouds, how dust filters starlight, and how stars affect their environments.https://science.nasa.gov/missions/hubble/hubble-homes-in-on-galaxys-star-formation/
is is an illustration of a white dwarf star merging with a red giant star. A bow shock forms as the dwarf plunges through the star's outer atmosphere. The passage strips down the white dwarf's outer layers, exposing an interior carbon core.
