Hubble takes portrait of the 'Lost Galaxy'

Located in the constellation of Virgo (The Virgin), around 50 million light-years from Earth, the galaxy NGC 4535 is truly a stunning sight to behold.

Despite the incredible quality of this image, taken from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, NGC 4535 has a hazy, somewhat ghostly, appearance when viewed from a smaller telescope.

This led amateur astronomer Leland S. Copeland to nickname NGC 4535 the "Lost Galaxy" in the 1950s.

Continued...
Source

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Lee and the PHANGS-HST Team

The bright colors in this image aren't just beautiful to look at, as they actually tell us about the population of stars within this barred spiral galaxy.

The bright bluish colors, seen nestled amongst NGC 4535's long, spiral arms, indicate the presence of a greater number of younger and hotter stars.

In contrast, the yellower tones of this galaxy's bulge suggest that this central area is home to stars which are older and cooler.

Source / Image Courtesy

Zooming in on a gravitationally lensed galaxy merger in the distant Universe

This video takes the viewer deep into an apparently sparsely occupied region of the constellation of Virgo (The Virgin).

Here at the centre, looking like many other faint spots, is a remarkable object, a gravitationally lensed view of a distant galaxy merger.