Hubble investigates where stars are born in this beautiful spiral galaxy

By Georgina Torbet Published April 28, 2022

A new image captured by the Hubble Space Telescope shows an “eye” deep in the heart of space: The spiral galaxy NGC 2835, located in the constellation of Hydra in the southern hemisphere. This particular galaxy is located near the head of the serpent for which the Hydra constellation is named.

The twisting patterns created by the multiple spiral arms of NGC 2835 create the illusion of an eye. — The twisting patterns created by the multiple spiral arms of NGC 2835 create the illusion of an eye. This is a fitting description, as this magnificent galaxy resides near the head of the southern constellation of Hydra, the water snake. This stunning barred spiral galaxy, with a width of just over half that of the Milky Way, is brilliantly featured in this image taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Lee, and the PHANGS-HST Team, Acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt (Geckzilla)

This particular galaxy is notable for its regions of cold gas where new stars are being born, shown in bright blue. This color shows areas where light that is close to the ultraviolet range is being given off, which scientists know is related to the process of star formation.

Recommended Videos

The areas of dense, cold gas from which stars form are primarily comprised of carbon dioxide and hydrogen, which tends to form clumps due to the low temperatures. More and more gas clumps together and eventually, the clump has enough gravity that it pulls itself together and forms the basis of a star, called a protostar.

Astronomers are still researching the relationship between regions of cold gas and star formation, and this Hubble image was generated as part of a study into this topic called Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby GalaxieS with the Hubble Space Telescope (PHANGS-HST). This survey looks at nearby galaxies to chart the relationship between gas and young stars in different environments, in order to understand the timescale of star formation and how it varies based on the properties of particular regions.

“Expected to image over 100,000 gas clouds and star-forming regions outside our Milky Way, this survey hopes to uncover and clarify many of the links between cold gas clouds, star formation and the overall shape and morphology of galaxies,” the Hubble scientists said about PHANGS-HST in a statement.

The ongoing project uses tools like the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope’s MUSE instrument as well as Hubble.

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

Astronomers snap first up-close image of a star outside our galaxy

This image shows an artist’s reconstruction of the star WOH G64, the first star outside our galaxy to be imaged in close-up. It is located at a staggering distance of over 160 000 light-years away in the Large Magellanic Cloud. This artistic impression showcases its main features: an egg-shaped cocoon of dust surrounding the star and a ring or torus of dust. The existence and shape of the latter require more observations to be confirmed.

It's sometimes hard to grasp the scale of our universe, when even our own galaxy is so large and filled with billions of stars. But all of the stars that we have seen in detail are contained within the roughly 100,000 light-year span of our Milky Way galaxy. That is, until now, as astronomers recently observed a star outside of our galaxy up close for the first time.

The researchers looked at star WOH G64, located 160,000 light-years away, using the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope Interferometer. The image shows the main bulk of the star surrounded by a puffy cocoon of dust and gas.

Space

Creepy cosmic eyes stare out from space in Webb and Hubble image

The gruesome palette of these galaxies is owed to a mix of mid-infrared light from the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope, and visible and ultraviolet light from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The pair grazed one another millions of years ago. The smaller spiral on the left, catalogued as IC 2163, passed behind NGC 2207, the larger spiral galaxy at right. Both have increased star formation rates. Combined, they are estimated to form the equivalent of two dozen new stars that are the size of the Sun annually. Our Milky Way galaxy forms the equivalent of two or three new Sun-like stars per year. Both galaxies have hosted seven known supernovae, each of which may have cleared space in their arms, rearranging gas and dust that later cooled, and allowed many new stars to form. (Find these areas by looking for the bluest regions).

These sinister eyes gazing out from the depths of space star in a new Halloween-themed image, using data from both the Hubble Space Telescope and the James Webb Space Telescope. It shows a pair of galaxies, IC 2163 on the left and NGC 2207 on the right, which are creeping closer together and interacting to form a creepy-looking face.

The two galaxies aren't colliding directly into one another, as one is passing in front of the other, but they have passed close enough to light scrape by each other and leave indications. If you look closely at the galaxy on the left, you can see how its spiral arms have been pulled out into an elongated shape, likely because of its close pass to the gravity of the other nearby galaxy. The lines of bright red around the "eyes" are created by shock fronts, with material from each galaxy slamming together.

Space

Hubble captures image of a spectacular ‘stellar volcano’

Evolution of R Aquarii

A gorgeous image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows a nearby star called R Aquarii that is the site of dramatic activity: violent eruptions of matter that is thrown out into the space around it. Informally dubbed as a "stellar volcano" for the way it is throwing out matter like lava spewing from deep underground, the star makes for a stunning image, but it also holds an unexpected surprise. The star is not one single object, but two.

Known as a symbiotic variable star, it consists of a red giant and a white dwarf that orbit each other in an ongoing dance. The red giant pulses, with its temperature and brightness changing over a 390-day period. This intersects with the 44-year orbital period of the white dwarf. When the white dwarf starts to close in on the red giant, it sucks off some of its gas via gravity and builds up the disk around it until this collapses and explodes, throwing off jets of material. Then the cycle begins again.