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\nBelieve it or not, this long, luminous streak, speckled with bright blisters and pockets of material, is a\u00a0spiral galaxy like our Milky Way. But how could that be?\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\nIt turns out that we see this galaxy, named NGC 3432, orientated directly edge-on to us from our vantage point here on Earth. The galaxy\u2019s spiral arms and bright core are hidden, and we instead see the thin strip of its very outer reaches. Dark bands of cosmic dust, patches of varying brightness, and pink regions of star formation help with making out the true shape of NGC 3432 \u2014 but it\u2019s still somewhat of a challenge! Because observatories such as the\u00a0NASA\/ESA Hubble Space Telescope\u00a0have seen spiral galaxies at every kind of orientation, astronomers can tell when we happen to have caught one from the side.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\nThe galaxy is located in the constellation of\u00a0Leo Minor (The Lesser Lion). Other telescopes that have had NGC 3432 in their sights include those of the\u00a0Sloan Digital Sky Survey, the\u00a0Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX), and the\u00a0Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS).\n<\/p>\n