Sometimes we get pretty views of distant galaxy face on, so that they appear
as grand spiral shapes. Other galaxies are tilted edge-on to our view.
This image of the nearby edge-on spiral galaxy NGC 55 was taken by Galaxy Evolution
Explorer (GALEX) on Sept. 14 and released last week.
The galaxy is 5.4 million light-years from our Milky Way galaxy and is a member
of the "local group" of galaxies that also includes Andromeda,
the Magellanic
clouds, and about 40 other galaxies.
This picture is a combination of images taken with the far ultraviolet (colored
blue) and near ultraviolet detectors, (colored red). The bright blue regions
in this image are areas of active star formation detected in the ultraviolet
by Galaxy Evolution Explorer. The red stars in this image are foreground stars
in our own Milky Way galaxy.
Credit: NASA/JPL/GALEX
