NASA’s Hubble Telescope imaged a galaxy clogged with space debris and gas.
Fortunately, the Hubble Telescope has an infrared sight that can identify shapes covered in space debris.
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A distant galaxy, Caldwell 5, is what researchers call a “hidden galaxy.”
Hidden galaxies are large and bright spiral galaxies, NASA says, but they are difficult to spot because of cosmic smog that obscures our view.
“This shiny frontal photograph shows hot gas and dust vines entangled in majestic arms wrapped around the glowing core of a star,” NASA wrote.
“If not obscured by a lot of interstellar material, the hidden galaxy would be one of the brightest galaxies in our sky.”
Hidden galaxies have a special nucleus at the center of the galaxy that is filled with charged particles.
“These regions are the birthplace of energetic stars, where thousands of stars can form over millions of years,” NASA said.
The hidden galaxy is 11 million light-years away from Earth, but when it comes to interstellar space and cosmic timelines, it’s pretty much the same.
It is about half the size of our galaxy.
In 1989, then President George HW Bush celebrated NASA’s past success in a speech in Washington, DC.
“It is time to look beyond a simple meeting. We must recommit ourselves to our ongoing program of manned exploration of the solar system and permanent settlement of space,” he said.
The Hubble Telescope was launched the following year, in 1990.
In the years that followed, Hubble provided NASA researchers with dozens of observations, and observations of hidden galaxies added to the telescope’s superior performance.
Launched last year, the James Webb Telescope will eventually replace Hubble as the best telescope in the universe.
Hubble is only 340 miles from Earth, while James Webb is 1,000,000 miles from Earth.
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