Hubble’s Vapor of Stars
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Shown above is an HST visible/infrared composite image of DDO 82/UGC 5692. Image Credit: ESA/NASA
Not many galaxies in the night sky feature distinct spiral arms like the famous Whirlpool Galaxy, Pinwheel Galaxy, or our own Milky Way. Most galaxies resemble large “blobs” of stars, gas and dust. One such galaxy is DDO 82, as shown above in a Hubble Space Telescope image. While a galaxy like DDO 82 is extremely tiny, as compared to our own Milky Way Galaxy, dwarf galaxies can contain anywhere from a few million to a few billion stars.
DDO 82 has hints of structure, and is classified by astronomers as an “Sm galaxy,” or Magellanic spiral galaxy. The name is derived from the Large Magellanic Cloud, which is a dwarf galaxy companion to our own Milky Way Galaxy. The LMC and DDO 82, are both thought to have one spiral arm each.
Located in Ursa Major, DD0 82 is a member of the “M81″ group of galaxies, and is about 13 million light-years from Earth.
Source:NASA Image of the Day Gallery
Ray Sanders is a Sci-Fi geek, astronomer and blogger. Currently researching variable stars at Arizona State University, he writes for Universe Today, The Planetary Society blog, and his own blog, Dear Astronomer
2012-12-04 08:07:53
Source: http://www.dearastronomer.com/2012/07/02/hubbles-vapor-of-stars/
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