The Hubble telescope has snapped a rare edge-on pic of a spiral galaxy known as the “Little Sombrero”.
NASA points out that galaxies can take many shapes and be oriented any way relative to us in the sky. This can make it hard to figure out their actual morphology, as a galaxy can look very different from different viewpoints.
A special case is when we are lucky enough to observe a spiral galaxy directly from its edge, providing us with a spectacular view like the one seen in this picture.
This is NGC 7814, also known as the “Little Sombrero”, is about 60 000 light years across,.
The galaxy has a bright central bulge and a bright halo of glowing gas extending outwards into space. The dusty spiral arms appear as dark streaks. They consist of dusty material that absorbs and blocks light from the galactic centre behind it.
Almost all the objects seen in this image are galaxies as well.
European Space Agency Credit: ESA/Hubble and NASA
Acknowledgement: Josh Barrington
