This spiral galaxy some 65 million light-years from Earth is a spawning ground for new stars.

Because of the frantic pace of star formation within it, astronomers have dubbed this object – technically known as NGC 908 – as the Starburst galaxy.

The galaxy sits out towards the constellation Cetus, or the Whale, and was discovered in 1786 by astronomer William Herschel. Starburst’s arms are home to clusters of young, massive stars. The galaxy has also hosted not one, but two supernova explosions – the first in 1994 and the other in May 2006 – spelling the death of knell of stars.

Starburst’s thick, uneven spiral arms hint at the possibility of a close encounter with another galaxy, a calamity that could have disturbed the object form its original shape. On its own, the galaxy is about 75,000 light-years long.

This image was taken this month by the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope in Chile.

-- SPACE.com Staff

Credit: ESO/FORS/VLT.