NGC 7331 Spiral Galaxy
The image shown above is of NGC 7331, a Spiral Galaxy a modest 50 million light years from earth. The spiral is caused by gravitational forces which cause dust to build up and create stars.
This image was taken by Vicent Peris using the 3.5 meter telescope at the Calar Alto Observatory in southern Spain.
You can read more about this picture here.
Hi-res version here.
Source: DiscoverMagazine
June 22nd, 2009 at 12:49 am
Excellent detail. Such images encourage amateur astronomers as well.