This spiral galaxy is shaped like a hurricane, with a glowing white spherical center. The arms of gas and dust closest to the center are orange, brown, and pale yellow in color. Farther away from the center, the arms are pink scattered with red, and surrounded by blue stars.

C45 (NGC 5248)

Hubble captured reddish-pink clouds of star-forming regions in this spiral galaxy. C45 is notable for the ring structure around its nucleus. These nuclear rings are characterized by “hot spots” of starburst activity. At a distance of 59 million light-years, the starburst regions in Caldwell 45 are actually some of the nearest to Earth and are less visually obstructed than many others.

Credits: NASA, ESA, J. Lee (California Institute of Technology), and A. Filippenko (University of California – Berkeley); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)
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Image CreditNASA, ESA, J. Lee (California Institute of Technology), and A. Filippenko (University of California – Berkeley); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)
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