Astronomers using the NASA / European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope have captured a stunning new image of an unusual spiral galaxy called NGC 5585.
This Hubble image shows this spiral galaxy NGC 5585. Star-forming hotspots can be seen along the faint spiral arms of the galaxy. These areas shine bright blue, contrasting strikingly with the always-black background of the space. The color image consists of observations from the Hubble Advanced Scanning Camera (ACS) in the near-infrared and optical parts of the spectrum. Two filters were used to take samples of different wavelengths. Color results from assigning different shades to each monochrome image associated with an individual filter. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / R. Tully / Gagandeep Anand.
NGC 5585 is located 25.5 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major.
The galaxy was discovered on April 17, 1789 by British-German-born astronomer William Herschel.
It is a member of the M101 group, a bright cluster of about 10 galaxies dominated by the Pinwheel Galaxy, also known as Messier 101 (M101).
NGC 5585 is also known as LEDA 51210 and UGC 9179, and it is about 35,000 light years in diameter.
“NGC 5585 is more than it appears,” said Hubble astronomers.
“The many stars and clouds of dust and gas that make up this galaxy contribute only a small fraction of its total mass.”
“As in many galaxies, this discrepancy can be explained by the abundant but seemingly invisible presence of dark matter.”
“When compared to galaxies of similar shape and size, NGC 5585 stands out through their remarkably different composition,” they explained.
“It contributes to the total mass of the galaxy, as it contains a much higher percentage of dark matter.”
