When you buy through liaison on our website , we may earn an affiliate commission . Here ’s how it work .
What it is : Spiral galaxy UGC 10043
Where it is:150 million light - years away in the constellation Serpens
UGC 10043 is one of the few spiral galaxies we see edge-on.
When it was portion out : December 12 , 2024
Why it ’s so special : This figure of a volute galaxy taken by theHubble Space Telescopeis a portraiture more than two decennium in the fashioning .
Like most full - color images of infinite objects , it ’s a complex of images taken in different wavelengths of lighter . What sets this image apart , however , is that the data used to create it was collected during reflexion sessions in 2000 and 2023 — 23 yr apart . That ’s one advantage of having a space telescope in arena for so long : Hubble was launched from the infinite shuttle Discovery on April 24 , 1990 , and its farsighted service has enabled it to capture a Brobdingnagian amount of data about every corner of the cosmos .
But besides the prolonged methods used to create it , it ’s also an strange image on its face . voluted galax — which account for about 60 % of all galaxies in the population , grant to theEuropean Space Agency — are , by chance , typically consider nerve - on when look at from thesolar scheme . That ’s why spiral galaxies are typically affiliate with pictorial spiral blazon , which can only be examine from a face - on vantage . However , UGC 10043 is viewed edge - on , with its rings apparently flattened into a line . This unique angle give stargazer the chance to see how spiral galaxies are structured in 3D.
have-to doe with : quad photo of the week : Hubble observe 10 days of hunt whale
— infinite photograph of the week : The sun ’s corona flower during back - to - back solar eclipses
— Star - packed Triangulum Galaxy shines in new Hubble Telescope prototype
— Record - breaking ancient spinning beetleweed challenge cosmic evolution theory
This look-alike of UGC 10043 reveals obvious lanes of debris , which would probably bet like spiral limb if the galaxy was seen face - on . Here , they appear to block the corporate glowing of the stars that make up the galaxy itself . They also contain dour clouds , which are star - take shape regions .
At the center of the image is a bulge of light — the galaxy ’s hopeful nucleus . All galaxies have one , but UGC 10043 ’s is unusually large . astronomer think it may be because UGC 10043 has collide with a dwarf galaxy nearby , leave it with supernumerary dust and accelerator that has fueled it to make new genius . A hit could also excuse why the galaxy ’s disc is slimly heave , bow up at one last and down at the other .
For more sublime space image , check out ourSpace Photo of the Week archive .
