Magnificent Eye of the Serpent Captured by Hubble

Galaxy NGC 2835

This magnificent galaxy, NGC 2835, resides near the head of the southern constellation of Hydra, the water snake. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Lee, and the PHANGS-HST Team. Acknowledgment: Judy Schmidt (Geckzilla)

The twisting patterns created by the multiple spiral arms of NGC 2835 create the illusion of an eye. This is a fitting description, as this magnificent galaxy resides near the head of the southern constellation of Hydra, the water snake. This stunning barred spiral galaxy, with a width of just over half that of the Milky Way, is brilliantly featured in this image taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Although it cannot be seen in this image, a supermassive black hole with a mass millions of times that of our Sun is known to nestle in the very center of NGC 2835.

This galaxy was imaged as part of PHANGS-HST, a large galaxy survey with Hubble that aims to study the connections between cold gas and young stars in a variety of galaxies in the local Universe. Within NGC 2835, this cold, dense gas produces large numbers of young stars within large star formation regions. The bright blue areas, commonly observed in the outer spiral arms of many galaxies, show where near-ultraviolet light is being emitted more strongly, indicating recent or ongoing star formation.

Expected to image over 100 000 gas clouds and star-forming regions outside our Milky Way, this survey hopes to uncover and clarify many of the links between cold gas clouds, star formation, and the overall shape and morphology of galaxies. This initiative is a collaboration with the international Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) and the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope’s MUSE instrument, through the greater PHANGS program (PI: E. Schinnerer).

9 Comments on "Magnificent Eye of the Serpent Captured by Hubble"

  1. The awesomeness of just one galaxy that is swirling in motion while at the same time all its billions of stars being precisely kept together or spaced apart so that they go as “one” by what is now labeled as dark matter or the “glue” that is seen as holding them together, is a feat that no human engineer or body of men can ever attain.

    And then when you put all the galaxies of the universe together, whereby all of them are in motion at about half the speed of light and yet they flow as “one”, could not have happened by accident. Precision does not happened accidentally or by chance, for any honest engineer will tell you how difficult it is to create something so exacting and have it function well without a highly skilled mind.

    And even with the most skilled and knowledgeable of minds, there are still serious problems that arise, such as the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger explosion that killed its seven member crew because of a faulty o-ring or the 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia’s explosion that also killed its seven member crew because a piece of heat-resistant foam, the size of a briefcase, had fallen off from the shuttle’s external tank and slammed into Columbia’s leading edge of the left wing at 480 mph, breaching its safety upon re-entry.(the problem with the foam was already known, but not addressed)

    So, what is the point ? That all the galaxies, with their compliment of billions of stars working as “one” while in constant motion and all the estimated upwards of 1 trillion galaxies moving smoothly together across the vastness of the universe at about half the speed of light as “one”, is evidence that they did not arise by some chance event(s), but is the intentional work of a Supreme Designer, and that Designer’s name is Jehovah.

    • @Tim Haley. If there is this supreme being you speak of, he better have a dam good excuse.

    • You have absolutely zero proof of this god. How the universe is made or of what it’s made is no proof. Precision of detail is no proof. There is precision of detail in all forms of nature created not by a being but by natural selection.

  2. All things in this universe began from something. That something i all mass condensed into an infinitesimally small point. Something happened to make all of that mass expand and coalesce into the universe we see today (or are seeing from the past as we look ever farther back in time with more powerful telescopes). At some point in the future the expansion of this universe will slow and eventually begin to contract. Everything will draw ever closer. The universe will cease to exist as we know it today and once again be a infinitesimally small point of unfathomable mass. For how long, nobody knows. But then something will happen the it will spring into expansion again and the entire universe will begin anew. We do not know how many times this will happen or already has happened. The only thing we do know is our time here is so finite on the grand scale of things that we truly do not matter.

  3. Wow… Why does it have to be about your god. Your arguments are weak and self serving.

    The universe is amazing and having the opportunity to view something as spectacular as this is truly humbling. Why can’t you just leave it there.

  4. Why does it make someone mad when God is mentioned? Everyone has a right to their own beliefs. If you don’t believe in a higher power, it’s all good. Personally I believe something greater than us exists. We are such small part of something massive. Our planet is a mere mote of dust in the cosmic scheme. In all the vastness of the cosmos we can only survive in the thin veil of atmosphere between the ground and the universe around us. We are energy. Energy is not something that goes away. It changes but is always there. We will always exist, just not in the same form. We all must find our own paths. If yours leads away from a higher power, that is your prerogative. There is no need to block someone else’s path. Go your own way and we will go ours. No need for negativity. Create positive energy and let go of unnecessary hostility. It fuels no purpose and creates more negativity, so much already exists here. Have a glorious day.

  5. There is talk of God’s creation. I once asked a nun some 60 years ago.
    Q. Where is God…??? She answered:
    God is love that flows through everything. I was once shown what I believe to be heaven. Heaven was souls all tinged yellowish white. Like drops of water all connected. All souls eminated love….you bet I believe the Universe was created by God…as a side note the Holy Spirit once spoke to me and the girl I was with…cloked in royal purple sparkling sequence like. I have astro traveled the astral plain. Visited the dead….been shown the temple where giants store our souls awaiting our soulmate for entrance into heaven. You cannot experience what I have and not believe in God…..

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