C62 (NGC 247) – The Needle’s Eye Galaxy

This Hubble image shows the central region of a spiral galaxy known as Caldwell 62. Its nucleus is visible here as a bright, whitish patch, surrounded by a mixture of stars, gas and dust. The dust forms dark patches and filaments that are silhouetted against the background of stars, while the gas has formed into bright knots known as H II regions, mostly scattered throughout the galaxy’s arms and outer areas.