Spiral Galaxy NGC 6782

NGC 6782 is a spiral galaxy located in the southern constellation Pavo. When seen in visible light, it exhibits tightly wound spiral arms that give it a pinwheel shape similar to that of many other spirals. However, when the galaxy is viewed in ultraviolet light, as in this Hubble image, its shape is startlingly different. Ultraviolet light has a shorter wavelength than ordinary visible light, and is emitted from stars that are much hotter than the Sun. At ultraviolet wavelengths, which are rendered here in blue, NGC 6782 shows a spectacular, nearly circular bright ring surrounding its nucleus. The ring marks the presence of many recently formed hot stars. Two faint, dusty spiral arms emerge from the outer edge of the blue ring and are seen silhouetted against the golden light of older and fainter stars. A scattering of blue stars at the outer edge of NGC 6782 in the shape of two dim spiral arms shows that some star formation is occurring there, too. The inner ring surrounds a small central bulge and a bar of stars, dust, and gas. This ring is itself part of a larger, dim bar that ends in these two outer spiral arms.