NGC 6744 Close Up
Explanation:
Beautiful spiral galaxy NGC 6744 is nearly 175,000 light-years
across, larger than
our own Milky Way.
It lies some 30 million light-years distant in the southern
constellation Pavo, its galactic disk tilted towards our line of sight.
This
Hubble close-up of the nearby island universe spans about
24,000 light-years across NGC 6744's central region in
a detailed portrait that combines visible light and ultraviolet image data.
The giant galaxy's yellowish core
is dominated by the visible light from old, cool stars.
Beyond the core are pinkish star forming regions and
young star clusters scattered along the inner spiral arms.
The young star clusters are bright at ultraviolet wavelengths,
shown in blue and magenta hues.
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.
