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This vibrant spiral galaxy and the subject of today\u2019s NASA\/ESA Hubble Space Telescope\u00a0Picture of the Week\u00a0is NGC 5042, which resides about 48 million light-years from Earth in the constellation\u00a0Hydra\u00a0(the water snake). The galaxy nicely fills the frame of this Hubble image, with a single Milky Way star marked by cross-shaped diffraction spikes attempting to blend in with the bright stars along the galaxy\u2019s edge.<\/p>\n
Hubble observed NGC 5042 in six\u00a0wavelength\u00a0bands from the ultraviolet to the infrared to create this multicoloured portrait. The galaxy\u2019s cream-coloured centre is packed with ancient stars, and the galaxy\u2019s spiral arms are decorated with patches of young blue stars. The elongated yellow-orange objects that are scattered around the image are background galaxies far more distant than NGC 5042.<\/p>\n
Perhaps NGC 5042\u2019s most striking feature is its collection of brilliant pink gas clouds that are studded throughout its spiral arms. These flashy clouds are called H II (pronounced \u201cH-two\u201d) regions, and they get their distinctive colour from hydrogen atoms that have been ionised by ultraviolet light. If you look closely at this image, you\u2019ll see that many of these reddish clouds are associated with clumps of blue stars, often appearing to form a shell around the stars.\u00a0<\/p>\n
H II regions arise in expansive clouds of hydrogen gas, and only hot and massive stars produce enough high-energy light to create an H II region. Because the stars capable of creating H II regions only live for a few million years \u2014 just a blink of an eye in galactic terms \u2014 this image represents a fleeting snapshot of life in this galaxy.<\/p>\n
[Image Description:<\/i>\u00a0A spiral galaxy. It\u2019s noticeably bright around the central region of its disc, then dims somewhat out to the edge where there are fewer stars. Two spiral arms circle through the disc and emerge beyond its edge, around the galaxy\u2019s sides. Many pink spots of new star formation, as well as dark reddish strands of dust, cover the galaxy. The arms contain some speckled, blue patches containing hot stars.]<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n