Friday, February 18, 2011

Spiral Galaxy's Glowing Newborn Stars

New Hubble photo! A stunning display of newborn stars studding a galaxy like bright blue jewels.



The spiral galaxy is NGC 2841. It lies in the constellation Ursa Major, about 46 million light-years from Earth. Hubble's newest instrument, the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3), took the photo, in which newborn stars show up as bright blue clumps.


Enjoy in amazing display!

The galaxy NGC 2841 — shown here in a Hubble image — currently has a relatively low star formation rate compared to other spirals. It is one of several nearby galaxies that have been chosen for a new study, in which scientists are observing a variety of different stellar nursery environments and birth rates.
CREDIT: NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration; M. Crockett and S. Kaviraj (Oxford University, UK), R. O'Connell (Univ. of Virginia), B. Whitmore (STScI) and the WFC3 Scientific Oversight Committee.