Explanation:
This stunning group of galaxies is far, far away -
about 450 million light-years from
planet Earth -
cataloged as galaxy cluster Abell S0740.
Dominated by the cluster's large central elliptical galaxy
(ESO 325-G004), this sharp Hubble view
takes in a remarkable assortment of
galaxy shapes and sizes with
only a few spiky foreground stars
scattered through the field.
The giant elliptical galaxy
spans over 100,000 light years and
contains about 100 billion stars, comparable in
size to our own spiral Milky Way.
The Hubble data reveal a
wealth
of detail in even these distant
galaxies, including magnificent
arms and dust lanes,
star clusters, ring structures,
and gravitational lensing arcs.
