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Hubble Zooms in on “Blue Blobs” in Space

This is a zoom into the "blue blobs" found along a wispy bridge of gas strung among three colliding galaxies, M81, M82, and NGC 3077 residing about 12 million light-years from Earth in the direction of the constellation Ursa Major. Astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope found these objects to be brilliant blue star clusters born in the swirls and eddies of a galactic smashup 200 million years ago. Video starts with a backyard view of Ursa Major. Camera zooms into the M81 and M82 galaxy pair. Scene ends with close-up Hubble view of the "blue blobs."
  • Release Date
    January 8, 2008
  • Science Release
    Hubble Finds that “Blue Blobs” in Space Are Orphaned Clusters of Stars
    Read the release
  • Credit
    NASA, ESA, and G. Bacon (STScI)

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Related Images & Videos

Location of the Blue Blobs in Galaxy Group

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Dwarf Galaxy Holmberg IX

This loose collection of stars is actually a dwarf irregular galaxy, called Holmberg IX. It resides just off the outer edge of M81, a large spiral galaxy in Ursa Major. This image was taken with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys in early 2006. Holmberg IX is of the so-called...

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Hubble Zooms in on Dwarf Galaxy

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This is a zoom into the dwarf irregular galaxy called Holmberg IX. It resides just off the outer edge of M81, a large spiral galaxy in the constellation Ursa Major. Video starts with a backyard view of Ursa Major. Camera zooms into the M81 and M82 galaxy pair. Scene ends with...

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Last Updated
Mar 28, 2025
Contact
Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

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