Facing NGC 3344

Facing NGC 3344

Image Credit:
ESA/Hubble &
NASA

Explanation:
From our vantage point in the
Milky Way Galaxy, we see
NGC 3344 face-on.

Nearly 40,000
light-years across, the big, beautiful
spiral galaxy
is located just 20 million light-years away in the
constellation of Leo Minor.

This multi-color
Hubble Space Telescope
close-up
of NGC 3344 includes remarkable details from near
infrared to
ultraviolet wavelengths.

The frame extends some 15,000 light-years across the
spiral’s central regions.

From the core outward,
the galaxy’s colors change from the yellowish
light of old stars in the center to young blue star
clusters and reddish
star forming regions along the loose,
fragmented
spiral arms.

Of course, the bright stars with a spiky appearance
are in front of NGC 3344 and
lie well within our own Milky Way.