Spiral Galaxy M66 from Hubble
It’s always nice to get a new view of an old friend.
This stunning
Hubble Space Telescope image of nearby
spiral galaxy M66 is just that.
A spiral galaxy with a small central bar, M66 is a member of the
Leo Galaxy Triplet, a group of three galaxies about 30 million light years from us.
The Leo Triplet is a
popular target for relatively small telescopes, in part because
M66 and its galactic companions
M65 and
NGC 3628
all appear separated by about the
angular width of a
full moon.
The featured image of
M66 was taken by Hubble
to help
investigate
the connection between
star formation and
molecular gas clouds.
Clearly visible are
bright blue stars,
pink ionized hydrogen clouds -- sprinkled all along the outer spiral arms, and dark
dust lanes
in which more
star formation could be
hiding.