In the Center of Spiral Galaxy NGC 3521
Image Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA and S. Smartt (Queen's University Belfast); Acknowledgement: Robert Gendler
Explanation: This huge swirling mass of stars, gas, and dust occurs near the center of a nearby spiral galaxy. Gorgeous spiral
NGC 3521 is a mere 35 million light-years distant, toward the
constellation Leo. Spanning some 50,000
light-years, its central region is shown in
this dramatic image, constructed from data from the
Hubble Space Telescope. The close-up view highlights this galaxy's
characteristic multiple, patchy, irregular spiral arms laced with
dust and clusters of young, blue stars.
In contrast, many other spirals exhibit grand, sweeping arms. A relatively bright galaxy in planet Earth's sky,
NGC 3521 is easily visible in small telescopes, but often overlooked by amateur imagers in favor of other Leo spiral galaxies, like
M65 and M66.
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