Credit: ESO
Spiral galaxies are usually very aesthetically appealing
objects, and never more so than when they appear face-on. And this
image is a particularly splendid example: it is the grand design spiral
galaxy Messier 100, located in the southern part of the constellation
of Coma Berenices, and lying about 55 million light-years from Earth.
While Messier 100 shows very well defined spiral arms, it also
displays the faintest of bar-like structures in the centre, which
classifies this as type SAB. Although it is not easily spotted in the
image, scientists have been able to confirm the bar’s existence by
observing it in other wavelengths.
This very detailed image shows the main features expected in a
galaxy of this type: huge clouds of hydrogen gas, glowing in red
patches when they re-emit the energy absorbed from newly born, massive
stars; the uniform brightness of older, yellowish stars near the
centre; and black shreds of dust weaving through the arms of the
galaxy.
Messier 100 is one of the brightest members of the Virgo Cluster,
which is the closest cluster of galaxies to our galaxy, the Milky Way,
containing over 2000 galaxies, including spirals, ellipticals, and
irregulars. This picture is a combination of images from the FORS
instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope at Paranal Observatory in
Chile, taken with red (R), green (V) and blue (B) filters.
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Source: ESO
