Wed 4 Jul 2007
The European Space Agency has posted a stunning picture of a starburst in dwarf galaxy NGC 4449: ESA – Space Science – Stellar fireworks through Hubble’s eyes
Observed in the visible (blue and green), infrared, and hydrogen-alpha regions of the spectrum, hundreds of thousands of vibrant blue and red stars are visible in this new image. Hot bluish white clusters of massive stars are scattered throughout the galaxy, interspersed with numerous dustier reddish regions where star formation is taking place. Massive, dark clouds of gas and dust are silhouetted against starlight.
Starburst in NGC 4449
A 36MB JPEG version of the above picture and a 12.7MB MP4 of the Hubble panning on NGC 4449 are available there too.