Spiral galaxy NGC 1300 resembles caramel swirl in stunning new image

The European Southern Observatory (ESO) has shared a breathtaking image of the spiral galaxy NGC 1300. The spiral galaxy, which resembles a mouthwatering caramel swirl in the picture, is located approximately 61 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Eridanus.

In the stunning new image, the golden caramel glow corresponds to clouds of molecular gas, the raw material out of which stars form while the bluish regions in the background reveal the distribution of slightly older, already formed stars.

The gold molecular gas was captured with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the bluish region was imaged by the Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) on ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT). The images were captured as part of the Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby GalaxieS (PHANGS) project.

The caramel swirl in this Picture of the Week is the spiral galaxy NGC1300. In blue we see stars captured with our VLT, and in gold molecular gas imaged by @almaobs . What's the connection between both?Find out: https://t.co/sdvQzAVkaPCredit: @ESO /ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/PHANGS pic.twitter.com/27aFVgiS4W

— ESO (@ESO) January 10, 2022

The image is a combination of observations conducted at different colours/wavelengths of light. According to ESO, different wavelengths can reveal a multitude of secrets about a galaxy, and by comparing them astronomers can study what activates, boosts or hinders the birth of new stars.

For more information, head over to ESO's website.