Small Galaxy, 11 Billion Light Years Away, A Hotbed of Star Formation

The Hubble Space Telescope takes a peek into one of the most active galaxies in space, NGC 1569, 11 billion light-years away in the constellation of Camelopardalis known as the Giraffe. And as revealed, the galaxy is the hotbed of vigorous star formation.

NASA/ESA's Hubble Space Telescope is now looking at a starburst galaxy. Starburst meaning it is abundant with stars and is producing lots of them at a rate higher than previously observed in other galaxies. Based on NASA's data, in almost 100 million years, the galaxy NGC 1569 produced stars more than 100 times faster than the Milky Way galaxy.

Because of this, the galaxy that glistens more than the usual is home to the super star clusters. Three of the star clusters are visible in the image released by NASA. Each cluster is believed to have more than one million stars that reside within a large cavity of gas carved by multiple supernovae that are remnants of massive stars.

Using the Hubble Space Telescope's Advanced Camera for Surveys, astronomers calculated the precise distance of NGC 1569 and that it is one and a half times farther away than previously thought.

A galactic nursery, as experts call it, NGC 1569 produces stars at a rapid rate and because of that, it can easily be seen by the NASA's Hubble Space Telescope due to the luminance of the newly formed stars. Experts suggest that the OC 342 cosmic congregation is the force behind the raid star-producing quality of NGC 1569, according to a report by Phys.Org.

The Hubble Space Telescope provides astronomers and scientists with clear and deep views of the Universe. And due to its help in NASA's investigation of the deep space, NASA extended its service to another five years until 2021.

The gravitational interactions between galactic groups could be compressing gasses in NGC 1569 when the gasses collapse, it is compressed, heats up and then forms new stars.