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Credit & Copyright: Dietmar Hager,
Torsten Grossmann
Explanation:
Lurking behind dust and stars near the plane of our
Milky Way Galaxy,
IC 10 is
a mere 2.3 million light-years distant.
Even though its light is dimmed by intervening dust,
the irregular dwarf galaxy still shows off vigorous star-forming regions
that shine with a telltale reddish glow in
this colorful
skyscape.
In fact, also a member of the Local Group of galaxies, IC 10 is
the closest known
starburst galaxy.
Compared to other
Local Group
galaxies, IC 10 has a large
population of newly formed stars that are massive and
intrinsically very bright, including a luminous
X-ray binary
star system thought to contain a
black hole.
Located within the boundaries of the northern constellation
Cassiopeia,
IC 10 is about 5,000 light-years across.
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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: irregular galaxy - starburst galaxy - star formation
Publications with words: irregular galaxy - starburst galaxy - star formation
See also:
- APOD: 2025 April 28 B Gum 37 and the Southern Tadpoles
- APOD: 2025 March 26 B Star Formation in the Pacman Nebula
- Starburst Galaxy Messier 94
- APOD: 2024 October 22 B M16: Pillars of Star Creation
- Star Factory Messier 17
- APOD: 2024 August 19 B IC 5146: The Cocoon Nebula
- APOD: 2024 July 16 B Cometary Globules