the-star-stuff: Hubble Unravels Odd Galaxy’s History Not all spiral galaxies look or behave alike, as this image from the Hubble Space Telescope of the unusual galaxy NGC 2976 shows. With this new detailed view, astronomers were able to use the brightness and color of its stars to reconstruct the galaxy’s history. The galaxy, which is located 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major, has been shaped by its interaction with the M81 group of galaxies. M81 set off star birth in the distant past, but about 500 million years ago, new stars stopped bursting into existence through the outer galaxy. Some of the galaxy’s gas was stripped away, and the rest collapsed to the center, leaving just a region 5,000 light-years wide near the core that is still making stars. What look like grains of sand are individual stars. Blue giant stars highlight where the remaining active starmaking regions exist. Image: NASA/ESA/J. Dalcanton/B. Williams. XXL image.

the-star-stuff:

Hubble Unravels Odd Galaxy’s History

Not all spiral galaxies look or behave alike, as this image from the Hubble Space Telescope of the unusual galaxy NGC 2976 shows.

With this new detailed view, astronomers were able to use the brightness and color of its stars to reconstruct the galaxy’s history.

The galaxy, which is located 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major, has been shaped by its interaction with the M81 group of galaxies. M81 set off star birth in the distant past, but about 500 million years ago, new stars stopped bursting into existence through the outer galaxy. Some of the galaxy’s gas was stripped away, and the rest collapsed to the center, leaving just a region 5,000 light-years wide near the core that is still making stars.

What look like grains of sand are individual stars. Blue giant stars highlight where the remaining active starmaking regions exist.

Image: NASA/ESA/J. Dalcanton/B. Williams. XXL image.

Posted: Tue January 3rd, 2012 at 12:40pm
Originally posted by the-star-stuff.
HighRes: view

Tagged: astronomy science space stars galaxy universe cosmos history

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