The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Hubble Space Telescope captured a stunning view of NGC 5033, a spiral galaxy that shines brightly due to its active galactic nucleus.
The Hubble Space Telescope, launched in 1990, fundamentally transformed our understanding of the universe, from determining the atmospheric composition of planets around other stars to the discovery of dark energy.
Coming back to the image shared by Hubble, NGC 5033, which is located about 40 million light-years away in the constellation Canis Venatici, shares notable features with the Milky Way, NASA said. It said both galaxies span about 100,000 light-years and display spiral arms filled with blue regions, which mark areas of active star formation.
Due to its relative proximity to Earth, NGC 5033 provides an excellent opportunity for astronomers to study the intricate details of its glowing nucleus and understand the behaviour of galaxies with active cores, the US space agency said.
The image shared by NASA Hubble shows a close-up shot of a spiral galaxy surrounded by spiral arms filled with dark dust and vibrant blue star-forming regions.
The picture shared by NASA’s Hubble also left netizens mesmerised. One person described it as “sensational”, while another enthusiastically commented, “Fantastic.” Another user called it “fancy”, while another called it “insane”. Another user said, “I’m in love,” reflecting the widespread admiration for the stunning image.
Meanwhile, Boeing’s Starliner will be undocked from the International Space Station (ISS) and return without its crew members – NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore – on Friday, September 6. NASA said in a statement on August 30 that the Starliner will be “autonomously undocked” from the space station at around 6:04 pm Friday (or 3:30 pm IST on Saturday) “to begin the journey home, if weather conditions permit”.
After undocking, the Starliner is expected to take about six hours to reach the landing zone at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico. The Starliner is expected to land on Earth around 9:30 am (IST) on Saturday, September 7. Starliner crewmembers Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams will live on the space station as part of the Expedition 71/72 crew on NASA’s Crew-9 mission, launching aboard a SpaceX Dragon craft in February 2025.
