This new picture of a galaxy called NGC 1792 also shows numerous background galaxies. It was taken by the European Southern Observatory in Chile and released earlier this month.

NGC 1792 is a spiral galaxy located in the southern constellation Columba, the Dove, and it is almost on the border with the constellation Caelum, the Graving Tool. Astronomers call it a starburst spiral galaxy because of all the new stars forming.

The galaxy's optical appearance is quite chaotic, due to the patchy distribution of dust throughout the disc of this galaxy. It is very rich in neutral hydrogen gas -- fuel for the formation of new stars. The galaxy is characterized by unusually luminous far-infrared radiation; this is due to dust heated by young stars.

Credit: ESO, Mark Neeser (Universitäts-Sternwarte München, Germany) and Peter Barthel (Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, Netherlands)