There are so many wonderful galaxies in the universe, but it’s hard to beat a truly majestic spiral, the kind of galaxies that spin with curved arms twinkling through the darkness in space. This is shown in the image of the new NGC 4535 Hubble Space Telescope.
NGC 4535 has a catchy moniker: The Lost Galaxy. It’s not lost in space, but the title comes from its shape with equipment not as impressive as Hubble.
“Despite the amazing quality of this image taken from the NASA / ESA Hubble Space Telescope, NGC 4535 has a hazy, somewhat ghostly appearance, when viewed from a smaller telescope,” The European Space Agency said in a statement Friday.
According to the European Space Agency (ESA), amateur astronomer Leland S. Copeland saw the galaxy in the 1950s and gave it the title of an eccentric lost galaxy in honor of its ethereal appearance.
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NASA also shared the photo this week. NASA and the European Space Agency jointly operate Hubble. The space telescope image shows an astonishing amount of detail. The bright blue spots are where hot young stars hang out. Lighter colors closer to the center bring out the larger, cooler stars.
The Lost Galaxy Show is part of the Physics with high angle accuracy in surveying nearby galaxies, or PHANGS, Which includes a collection of data about star formation. The galaxy is located in the constellation Virgo at a distance of 50 million light-years from Earth, but Hubble makes it feel close to its home.
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