The Splinter Galaxy is home to a thick stellar disk, seen here in infrared by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.

Dust lanes appear as red features in this view of the Splinter Galaxy - also known as NGC 5907 - which sits in the constellation Draco. The galaxy has an elongated appearance because of its edge-on alignment when seen from Earth’s vantage point.

Advanced infrared instruments have allowed scientists to see light from the galaxy previously obscured by dust, including the recent observations using Spitzer's infrared array camera. By looking in infrared wavelengths from 3-10 microns, Spitzer found a significant and potentially massive thick stellar disk. This is the first time that a thick disk has been detected and characterized in infrared.

-- SPACE.com Staff

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/M.L.N. Ashby