Hubble revisits diminutive galaxy that recently underwent starburst

The cosmic oddball was imaged by NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope using its Wide Field Camera 3. Dwarf galaxies, like NGC 1705, can provide valuable insights into the history of galaxies in the early universe.

The European Space Agency (ESA) has shared yet another breathtaking image of a diminutive galaxy, NGC 1705, that lies in the southern constellation Pictor and has recently undergone a spate of star formation known as a starburst.

The cosmic oddball was imaged by NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope using its Wide Field Camera 3. The dwarf irregular galaxy lies approximately 17 million light-years from Earth.

According to ESA, the data in the image is based on a series of observations designed to unveil the interplay between stars, star clusters, and ionised gas in nearby star-forming galaxies. Astronomers used Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 to observe a specific wavelength of light called H-alpha to discover thousands of emission nebulae - glowing clouds of interstellar gas.

Dwarf galaxies, like NGC 1705, can provide valuable insights into the history of galaxies in the early universe. Astronomers believe that dwarf galaxies were the first systems to collapse and start forming stars in the early universe. They represent the building blocks from which more massive objects like spiral and elliptical galaxies were later formed through mergers and accretion.

In the latest ESA/Hubble Picture of the Week we revisit a galactic oddball — a small, irregularly shaped dwarf galaxy that has recently undergone a spate of star formation known as a starburst ✨ https://t.co/6lcGDyGymZCredit: @esa / @HUBBLE_space / @NASA , R. Chandar pic.twitter.com/qc6Bjxeyot

— HUBBLE (@HUBBLE_space) January 31, 2022