This face-on spiral galaxy, called NGC 3982, is striking for its abundant tapestry of star birth, in addition to its winding arms. Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA).
NGC 3982 is a face-on spiral nebula known for its dynamic star-forming areas and dense star-packed nucleus, situated in the Ursa Major constellation. It is a 3rd the size of the Milky Way and has been imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope, revealing its comprehensive structure in near-infrared and noticeable light.
The universe is chock complete of spiral-shaped galaxies, no 2 appearance exactly the exact same. This face-on spiral galaxy, called NGC 3982, is striking for its rich tapestry of star birth, together with its winding arms. The arms are lined with pink star-forming regions of radiant hydrogen, newborn blue star clusters, and obscuring dust lanes that provide the raw product for future generations of stars. The bright nucleus is home to an older population of stars, which grow ever more largely loaded toward the center.
NGC 3982 is located about 68 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. The galaxy covers about 30,000 light-years, one-third of the size of our Milky Way galaxy. This color image is made up of direct exposures taken by the Hubble Space Telescopes Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2), the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), and the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). The observations were taken in between March 2000 and August 2009. The abundant color variety originates from the fact that the galaxy was photographed in visible and near-infrared light. Used was a filter that separates hydrogen emission that emanates from intense star-forming regions dotting the spiral arms.
By ESA/Hubble
November 4, 2023
The universe is chock complete of spiral-shaped galaxies, no 2 look exactly the same. The galaxy covers about 30,000 light-years, one-third of the size of our Milky Way galaxy. The rich color variety comes from the truth that the galaxy was photographed in near-infrared and noticeable light.