Scientists take picture of a galaxy 11 light years away

Scientists from NASA have taken an astounding picture of a galaxy named Sculptor using the European Southern Observatory’s (ESO) large space telescope from mid 2024 to early 2025. They took an almost color perfect picture, which took 50 hours! Sculptor is a starburst galaxy- meaning it has a lot of stellar action.

Located about 11 light years away from the Milky Way, Sculptor is impossible to see with the naked eye. With the telescope, it has a good distance- not too far, not too close- making it perfect to be seen through through magnification. Sculptor is smaller than the Milky Way, with a width of 70,000 light years. The Milky Way is very large, as it’s 100,000 light years wide.

Despite being smaller, Sculptor has a fast rate of star birthing, 2-3 times faster than our Milky Way. Milky Way is moderate, which is a normal speed for it’s shape. Sculptor makes stars very quickly- it makes 5 solar masses each year. That means the number of stars it makes is equivalent to the mass of 5 suns!

Some astronomers from the ESO said that the galaxy was “a cosmic fireworks show,” meaning that it was making a lot of stars. Some astronomers even said that since Sculptor is so close to us and it makes stars, it is like “a lab next door.”

Since Sculptor’s picture is very colorful, it fascinates scientists studying space. The picture of the galaxy has lots of details- including glowing clouds, nebulas, and other fascinating stars. Those sights include planetary nebulae, supernova remnants, HII regions, and ionized gas, which are all an amazing sight.

In a nutshell, NASA scientists have taken the most captivating picture of a galaxy. The astronauts will like to learn more about Sculptor and its stars in this picture.

References:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/articles/cdx5rdgy05vo