Explanation:
The grand, winding arms are almost mesmerizing in
this face-on view
of NGC 7424, a spiral galaxy with a prominent
central bar.
About 40 million light-years distant in the
headlong constellation
Grus, this island universe
is also about 100,000 light-years across making it remarkably
similar to our own
Milky Way.
Following along the winding arms, many bright
bluish clusters
of massive young stars can be found.
The star clusters themselves are several hundred light-years
in diameter.
And while massive stars are born in the arms of NGC 7424,
they also die there.
Notably, this galaxy was home to a
powerful stellar explosion,
supernova
SN 2001ig, which faded before this
deep European Southern Observatory image
was recorded.
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