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Credit & Copyright: NASA,
ESA,
Hubble,
ESO, Amateur Data;
Processing & Copyright:
Robert Gendler &
Roberto Colombari
Explanation:
Why do some spiral galaxies have a ring around the center?
First and foremost,
M95 is one of the closer examples of a big and beautiful barred
spiral galaxy.
Visible in the
featured combination of images from
Hubble
and several ground based telescopes are sprawling spiral arms delineated by
open clusters of
bright blue stars, lanes of dark dust, the diffuse glow
of billions of faint stars, and a short
bar across the galaxy center.
What intrigues many astronomers, however, is the
circumnuclear ring
around the galaxy center visible just outside the central bar.
Although the
long term stability of this ring remains a
topic of research,
observations indicate its present brightness
is at least enhanced by transient bursts of star formation.
M95, also known as NGC 3351, spans about 50,000
light-years, lies about 30 million light years away,
and can be
seen with a small telescope toward the constellation of the Lion
(Leo).
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NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: M 95 - spiral galaxy
Publications with words: M 95 - spiral galaxy
See also: