Dwarf Galaxy ESO 540-31

Thousands of glittering specks — each individual stars — are resolved in this image of the dwarf galaxy ESO 540-31. Found in the constellation Cetus, the Whale, this galaxy lies just over 11 million light-years from Earth. Many other galaxies, located at vast distances, can also be seen in the background. Dwarf galaxies are among the smaller and dimmer members of the galactic family, typically only containing around a few hundred million stars. Although this sounds like a large number, it is small when compared to spiral galaxies like our Milky Way, which are made up of hundreds of billions of stars.