Galaxy keeps a cosmic eye on us
This stunning new image of the spiral galaxy NGC 1350 was released by European astronomers yesterday.
Light from the galaxy began its journey to Earth 85 million years ago, when dinosaurs ruled the planet and South America was still an island continent.
The picture was taken by the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope, perched on the 2,600 metre high Cerro Paranal mountain in the Chilean Andes.
NGC 1350 is slightly larger than our Milky Way galaxy, measuring about 130,000 light years across.
The blue tint of its arms is due to the presence of very young and massive stars.
Fragmented dust spirals in the centre, which give the appearance of blood vessels in an eye, are also a sign of star formation.
The galaxy is located in the southern Fornax constellation, also known as The Furnace.
It is speeding away from the Milky Way at a speed of 1,860 kilometres per second.
This means that when the recorded light left it, 85 million years ago, NGC 1350 was 530,000 light years closer to us than it is today.
