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New Hubble Image Shows A Beautiful And Dusty Spiral Galaxy

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This galaxy, NGC 4183 is located about 55 million light-years from the sun. It's similar to our own Milky Way Galaxy — they are both spiral-shaped — but is slightly smaller. It's located in the constellation Canes Venatici and is about 80,000 light-years wide.

It's viewed edge on, so we can see the bulge in the middle (which is more loosely organized than our own) and the dustiness of the galactic disk. In the background and foreground of the image you can see other, further galaxies and up close stars.

From the NASA press release:

The disks of galaxies are mainly composed of gas, dust and stars. There is evidence of dust over the galactic plane, visible as dark intricate filaments that block the visible light from the core of the galaxy. In addition, recent studies suggest that this galaxy may have a bar structure. Galactic bars are thought to act as a mechanism that channels gas from the spiral arms to the center, enhancing star formation, which is typically more pronounced in the spiral arms than in the bulge of the galaxy.

Spiral galaxy NGC 4183

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