M74: A Grand Design Spiral Galaxy
Explanation:
M74 is about the same size as our own Milky Way Galaxy. Like our
Milky Way,
M74 is classified
a spiral galaxy. M74's sweeping lanes of
stars and
dust combined with its
small nucleus make it a classic
Grand
Design Spiral. On the
Hubble Sequence of Galaxies, M74 is listed as "Sc".
In the
above picture, visible light is shown in red and
ultraviolet light
superposed in blue. In general, older stars are more red and younger
stars are blue.
Studies with the
Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope show that the
disk of M74 has undergone significant star formation in just
the past 500 million years.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
