Hubble Spots a Gorgeous Waterfall of Stars

The galaxy UGCA 193, seen here by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, is a galaxy in the constellation of Sextans (The Sextant). Looking rather like a waterfall, UGCA 193 appears to host many young stars, especially in its lower portion, creating a striking blue haze and the sense that the stars are falling from “above.”

The blue color of UGCA 193 indicates the stars that we see are hot — some with temperatures exceeding 6 times that of our Sun. We know that cooler stars appear to our eyes more red, and hotter stars appear more blue. As the mass and surface temperature of a star, and therefore its color, are linked, heavier stars are able to “burn” at higher temperatures resulting in a blue glow from their surface.

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