Stunning spiral galaxy in the constellation of Lynx
Stunning spiral galaxy in the constellation of Lynx Today’s Image of the Day from the European Space Agency features an incredible glimpse of UGC 3885, a spiral galaxy located in the constellation of Lynx about 180 million light-years away. The photo was captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.
“While a bright foreground star is incredibly bright to Hubble’s eye, it does not outshine the details of the background galaxy,” said ESA scientists. Stunning spiral galaxy in the constellation of Lynx shown above shows how beautiful it is.
“Many young blue stars are sprinkled throughout the circular patterns of UGC 3885’s arms, contrasted and complemented by dark lanes of dust also following the spiral structure.”
“A glancing look at UGC 3885 may only leave you with an impression of the galaxy, but spare a moment longer and the intricacies of the galaxy begin to emerge.”Lynx is a constellation named after the animal, usually observed in the Northern Celestial Hemisphere. The constellation was introduced in the late 17th century by Johannes Hevelius. It is a faint constellation, with its brightest stars forming a zigzag line. The orange giant Alpha Lyncis is the brightest star in the constellation, and the semiregular variable star Y Lyncis is a target for amateur astronomers. Six star systems have been found to contain planets. Those of 6 Lyncis and HD 75898 were discovered by the Doppler method; those of XO-2, XO-4, XO-5 and WASP-13 were observed as they passed in front of the host star.
Image Credit: ESA
—
By Chrissy Sexton, Earth.com Staff Writer
