A billion-year-old galaxy shines in new view from Hubble telescope

NASA has shared a mesmerizing picture of a dusty spiral galaxy which is billions of years old. Captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, the "Little Sombrero", also known as NGC 7814 or Caldwell 43 is roughly 40 million light-years from Earth and 80,000 light-years-wide.

"NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has allowed astronomers to view galaxies of all shapes and sizes from nearly every angle. When a galaxy is seen edge-on, the mesmerizing perspective reveals a dazzling slice of the universe," the agency said.

According to NASA, this Hubble image of the Little Sombrero is a combination of visible and infrared observations captured by the telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys in 2006. The observations were taken to assist astronomers in studying the galaxy's stellar populations and to help shed light on the evolution of this galaxy and others like it.

The Little Sombrero is named after the grander-appearing Sombrero galaxy, which resembles a broad-brimmed Mexican hat, and features a bright central bulge, a thin disk full of dust, and a glowing halo of gas and stars that sprawls out into space.

Take a look at a galaxy edge-on with @NASAHubble. 🔭 Set against a backdrop of remote galaxies, the Little Sombrero galaxy (NGC 7814) features a bright central bulge, a thin disk full of dust, and a glowing halo of gas and stars. 🌌 Learn more HERE: https://t.co/PT4HzeJI9O

— NASA Marshall (@NASA_Marshall) May 12, 2022