Hubble captures a beautiful spiral galaxy with loose, open arms

By Georgina Torbet Published February 17, 2020

The spiral galaxy NGC 2008 sits centre stage, its ghostly spiral arms spreading out towards us, in this image captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. — The spiral galaxy NGC 2008 sits center stage, its ghostly spiral arms spreading out towards us, in this image captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. ESA/Hubble & NASA, A. Bellini

The Hubble Space Telescope has captured this image of the beautiful spiral galaxy NGC 2008, located 425 million light-years away in the constellation of Pictor (The Painter’s Easel). In the image, you can see the glowing nucleus of the galaxy’s center, with arms of stars and dust reaching out from this, in a form that is distinctive to spiral galaxies.

Spiral galaxies have nearly identical arms that reach out from the galactic center. In this case, the galaxy is seen titled at a slight angle, so the arms at the bottom of the image are closer to Earth than those at the top. These arms are dotted with regions of star formation, where clouds of ionized gas collapse due to gravitational forces and form the basis of new stars. The ionized gas glows with infrared light due to the heat generated by the stars within it.

Recommended Videos

There are three different types of spiral galaxy: Sa, Sb, and Sc. Sa galaxies are those with arms that sit close to a large central nucleus, while Sc galaxies have long, loose arms which spread from a smaller nucleus. Sb galaxies are those in between the two. The galaxy NGC 2008 is an Sc galaxy, with a smaller central bulge and open spiral arms. The bulge consists of older, dimmer stars, which in most cases surround a supermassive black hole that lies right at the heart of the galaxy.

Spiral galaxies are among the most common types of galaxy, with around 70% of all observed galaxies being in a spiral form. Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is also a spiral galaxy, but it has a special feature called a bar, in which the central region of the galaxy has a block of dust and gas where new stars form. Around two-thirds of spiral galaxies have such a bar, which spreads across the center of the galaxy and from which the arms radiate. Other famous spiral galaxies include the Andromeda galaxy, the Pinwheel galaxy, and the Triangulum galaxy.

Topics

Georgina Torbet

Space Writer

Georgina has been the space writer at Digital Trends space writer for six years, covering human space exploration, planetary…

Space

A baby star’s energetic outburst captured by Hubble

An energetic outburst from an infant star streaks across this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. This stellar tantrum – produced by an extremely young star in the earliest phase of formation – consists of an incandescent jet of gas travelling at supersonic speeds. As the jet collides with material surrounding the still-forming star, the shock heats this material and causes it to glow. The result is the colorfully wispy structures, which astronomers refer to as Herbig–Haro objects, billowing across the lower right of this image.

This week's image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows the dramatic and energetic jets given off by a young star, forming a wispy structure called a Herbig-Haro object. The image shows object HH34, located 1,250 light-years away in the Orion Nebula. The Orion Nebula is a site of active star formation and as it is bright enough to be seen even by the naked eye, it is often studied to learn about the formation of stars.

A Herbig-Haro object is formed when a young, particularly energetic star ejects particles of ionized gas in epic jets. These jets typically eject from opposite sides of the star, illuminating gas and dust around them which glows in beautiful colors. These jets are so powerful they can travel at hundreds of miles per second, meaning they spread far beyond the star and form these long, thin shapes which can be seen from great distances.

Space

Hubble images two galaxies aligned but light-years apart

The twin galaxies NGC 4496A and NGC 4496B dominate the frame in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Both galaxies lie in the constellation Virgo, but despite appearing side-by-side in this image they are at vastly different distances from both Earth and one another. NGC 4496A is 47 million light-years from Earth while NGC 4496B is 212 million light-years away. The enormous distances between the two galaxies mean that the two are not interacting, and only appear to overlap because of a chance alignment.

This week's image shared by the team from the Hubble Space Telescope shows two galaxies that appear to be overlapping. But unlike last week's Hubble image, which showed two galaxies interacting, this week's image shows two galaxies that are actually light-years apart.

The two galaxies here are NGC 4496A, which is 47 million light-years from Earth, and NGC 4496B, which is much further away at 212 million light-years distance. The two happen to be aligned so they appear to be overlapping because they are both in the same direction from Earth, but they do not actually interact at all.

Space

Hubble returns to a pair of interacting galaxies for a second look

This striking image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope showcases Arp 298, a stunning pair of interacting galaxies. Arp 298 – which comprises the two galaxies NGC 7469 and IC 5283 – lies roughly 200 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Pegasus. The larger of the two galaxies pictured here is the barred spiral galaxy NGC 7469, and IC 5283 is its diminutive companion. NGC 7469 is also host to an active, supermassive black hole and a bright ring of star clusters.

The image from the Hubble Space Telescope this week shows a pair of interacting galaxies, which are close enough that they are affecting each other, with the tidal interactions of the two pulling on the tails of the larger galaxy and feeding star formation there. The two galaxies even have a shared name, Arp 298.

"Arp 298 – which comprises the two galaxies NGC 7469 and IC 5283 – lies roughly 200 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Pegasus," Hubble scientists write. "The larger of the two galaxies pictured here is the barred spiral galaxy NGC 7469, and IC 5283 is its diminutive companion. NGC 7469 is also host to an active, supermassive black hole and a bright ring of star clusters."