04 July 2012
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The dwarf galaxy UGC 5497
Credit: ESA/NASA
NASA recently published an exquisite image of a beautiful small galaxy, known as UGC 5497. The image was acquired by the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), a sophisticated observatory exploring the cosmos from Earth orbit.
UGC 5497 is a dense dwarf galaxy that is studded with clusters of newly born stars. The massive, luminous stars in these clusters render this galaxy an overall bluish hue. They will last for only several million years, a very short period by astronomical standards, and rapidly end their lifetimes, in spectacular explosions, known as supernovas.
UGC 5497 is considered a member of a group of gravitationally-bound galaxies, known as the M 81 Group, which is located about 12 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major (The Great Bear).
References:
NASA
www.nasa.gov/
Aymen Mohamed Ibrahem
Senior Astronomy Specialist