C72 (NGC 55)

This image, showing a central part of Caldwell 72, is a composite of visible and infrared observations made by Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys. The observations were taken to help astronomers understand how the distribution of the galaxy’s relatively small structures, such as dust clouds, affect how the light from the galaxy is dimmed as it passes through this intervening matter. Because light from the galaxy is partially obscured by the dust along our line of sight, it is important that we understand its small-scale distribution.