Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA
Acknowledgement: Luca Limatola
Acknowledgement: Luca Limatola
This sprinkling of cosmic glitter makes up the galaxy known as ESO
149-3, located some 20 million light-years away from us. It is an
example of an irregular galaxy, characterised by its amorphous,
undefined shape — a property that sets it apart from its perhaps more
photogenic spiral and elliptical relatives. Around one quarter of all
galaxies are thought to be irregular-type galaxies.
In this image taken with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope ESO
149-3 can be seen as a smattering of golden and blue stars, with no
apparent central nucleus or arm structure. The surrounding sky is rich
in other more distant galaxies, visible as small, colourful streaks and
dashes.
A version of this image was submitted to the Hubble's Hidden Treasures image processing competition by contestant Luca Limatola.
