Pic of the Week: Dwarf Irregular Galaxy UGC 8091

Posted on by onespaceman2000
Image (Credit): The Hubble Space Telescope’s view of Galaxy UGC 8091. ( ESA/Hubble, NASA Y. Choi (NOIRLab), K. Gilbert (Space Telescope Science Institute), J. Dalcanton (Flatiron Institute and University of Washington))

The image this week is from the NASA/European Space Agency’s (ESA) Hubble Space Telescope. It shows an irregular dwarf galaxy, UGC 8091, that is about seven million light-years away. What I see appears to be jellyfish within some cloudy water. I also the variety of other galaxies you can see throughout the image (see below).

Here is a little more about the image from ESA:

A collection of stars and galaxies fill the scene against a dark background. The image is dominated by a dense collection of stars that make up the irregular galaxy UGC 8091. The stars span a variety of colours, including blue and orange, with patches of blue occupying the central part of the galaxy. There are also visible circular regions of red/pink gas within the galaxy.

Image (Credit): Section of the above image – upper left hand corner. (ESA/Hubble, NASA Y. Choi (NOIRLab), K. Gilbert (Space Telescope Science Institute), J. Dalcanton (Flatiron Institute and University of Washington))