A cosmic #FatBearWeek contender?

 

 A cosmic #FatBearWeek contender?.

The constellation Ursa Major – the Great Bear – holds a massive galaxy that spans about 150,000 light-years in diameter. Known as NGC 2481, this galaxy lies 46 million light-years away from Earth and is 50,000 light-years larger than our own galaxy, the Milky Way.

Scientists have observed barely any new star formation in this galaxy, speculating that the young blue stars have consumed and cleared out all the fuel needed for star birth. The forebearers to the young blue stars are white middle-aged stars, which crowd the galaxies centers.

Image description:

 White stars are barely visible toward the galaxy's center, where a bright yellow core emanates outward. Spiral arms containing lanes of dust, blue and purple stars dot the image on all sides.

Credits: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration;

Acknowledgment: M. Crockett and S. Kaviraj (Oxford University, UK), R. O'Connell (University of Virginia), B. Whitmore (STScI), and the WFC3 Scientific Oversight Committee

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                        06 October 2023