Post by Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe on Nov 30, 2007 3:09:11 GMT -6
Detailed shot of M74 from the Hubble
Despite failing gyros and aging equipment, the Hubble continues to provide us with magnificent imaging of the Universe around us.
From The Hubble website:
In the new Hubble image of the galaxy M74 we can also see a smattering of bright pink regions decorating the spiral arms. These are huge, relatively short-lived, clouds of hydrogen gas which glow due to the strong radiation from hot, young stars embedded within them; glowing pink regions of ionized hydrogen (hydrogen that has lost its electrons). These regions of star formation show an excess of light at ultraviolet wavelengths and astronomers call them HII regions.
Source: www.spacetelescope.org/images/html/heic0719a.html
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Download the 12mb file for a great detailed image of the Galaxy. I'm pretty sure there is a black hole in the center driving that spiral action. Must be a white hole on the other side belching out matter.