Hubble telescope photographs spiral galaxy in stunning details
NASA and ESA's Hubble Space Telescope has captured an amazing image of a spiral galaxy, called IC 5332, roughly 30 million light-years away in the constellation Sculptor. From our viewpoint on Earth, the galaxy's orientation is almost face-on, making it look like a circular, disc-shaped structure. This unique perspective lets us clearly see the galaxy's bright stars and dark dust that make up its well-defined arms, extending from its glowing core.
IC 5332 has a weakly barred center
IC 5332 is known as an SABc-type galaxy, based on the De Vaucouleurs system of galaxy classification. The "S" means it's a spiral galaxy, while the "AB" shows that it has a weakly barred center. Most spiral galaxies don't originate from a single point but instead have a stretched-out bar-like structure in the middle. SAB galaxies, or intermediate spiral galaxies, are somewhere between having a clear bar shape at their core and spiraling out from a single point.
Characteristics of IC 5332
The lowercase "c," in the galaxy's SABc-type classification, tells us how tightly wound the spiral arms are, with "a" being very tight and "d" being very loose. In this case, IC 5332 fits the classification system perfectly. The glowing regions of pink and orange seen in Hubble's image mark star formation happening within the galaxy, per ESA. Further, the galaxy's nearly face-on orientation offers an unblocked view of its unique traits, making it a great subject for astronomers to observe.
Significance of studying spiral galaxies
Examining spiral galaxies like IC 5332 helps us learn more about how these cosmic structures form and evolve. By looking at different types of spiral galaxies, astronomers can better understand the processes that shape them and their place in the vast universe. As opposed to face-on galaxies, if galaxies were to appear squashed and oval-shaped, it is referred to as 'edge-on'.
