Glowing bright pink spiral galaxy closer than previously thought
March 6th, 2011 - 5:18 pm ICT by ANIWashington, Mar 6 (ANI): A new image of the star-forming regions of a nearby spiral galaxy has suggested that it is closer than previously thought.
The galaxy glows bright pink in the new image from a telescope atop a Chilean peak, reports LiveScience.
The glowing pink clouds seen in the image of the spiral galaxy NGC 247 are composed primarily of hydrogen gas, marking places where stars are coming together, said researchers.
Many of the galaxy’s component stars are also visible in the photo, which was taken by the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope at the European Southern Observatory’s La Silla Observatory in Chile.
NGC 247 is part of the Sculptor Group, the nearest collection of galaxies to the Local Group, which includes our own Milky Way.
A 2009 study using ESO telescope observations found that NGC 247 is about 11 million light-years away -about 1 million light-years closer than was previously thought, said researchers. (ANI)
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