This spiral galaxy is undergoing vigorous star formation: Check out this image snapped by ESO telescopes

This Picture of the Week shared by the European Southern Observatory (ESO) shows NGC 3627, an unusual spiral galaxy undergoing vigorous star formation. In this image, the galaxy appears to be expelling flames out of its majestic spiral arms, but the fire actually marks clouds of cold molecular gas - the material out of which stars form - and has been captured using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Chile.

ALMA, which comprises 66 high-precision antennas, is the most powerful telescope for observing the cool Universe. The European Southern Observatory, together with its international partners, is operating ALMA.

In the above image, the bluish regions in the background reveal the pattern of older, already formed stars, imaged by the Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) on ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT). Located in Chile, VLT is the world's most advanced visible-light astronomical observatory, consisting of four Unit Telescopes with main mirrors of 8.2m diameter and four movable 1.8m diameter Auxiliary Telescopes.

Today's Picture of the Week shows how stars form in the NGC 3627 galaxy. The golden areas mark cold molecular clouds imaged with @almaobs, whereas the bluish regions show already-born stars imaged with ESO's VLT.🔗 https://t.co/RFi2ClysKxCredit: @ESO /PHANGS pic.twitter.com/ZBj0suJ5WK

— ESO (@ESO) December 12, 2022

Located about 31 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Leo, NGC 3627, also known as Messier 66, is a member of the Leo Triplet - a trio of interacting spiral galaxies.