Nasa shares spectacular image of spiral galaxy named after Egyptian queen

Nasa shared a stunning image of a spiral galaxy, which is named after the Egyptian queen Berenice II. Here's all you need to know about it

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA's) Hubble Space Telescope shared some stunning pictures of the spiral galaxy NGC 4689, which is named after Egyptian queen Berenice II. The Hubble Space Telescope has changed the fundamental understanding of the universe since its launch in 1990. Among many other things, the telescope explores the atmospheric composition of planets around other stars, and has played a prominent role in the understanding of dark energy. 

Nasa Hubble shared a stunning image stating that the galaxy is located in the constellation Coma Berenices. Speaking of the constellation's name, Nasa explained that the “queen's court astronomer thought that a missing lock of Berenice's hair had been placed among the stars by the gods. Hence the constellation is called Coma Berenices.”

The US Space said that the NGC 4689 is a jewel-bright spiral galaxy located 54 million light-years from Earth

Nasa while speaking on NGC 4689 adds that it has a bright, glowing spot at its core, the broad spiral arms hold many dark threads while pink glowing spots across the disk mark the areas of star formation. "A faint halo that bleeds into the dark background surrounds the galaxy’s disk," the American space agency added. 

The space agency also said that the image contains data from two sets of observations – one in 2019 and the other in 2024 – and both observations are part of programs that observed multiple 'nearby' galaxies. The 2024 observing program is an interesting example of how Hubble and James Webb Space Telescope complement each other. Observations collected through Webb stand to transform the understanding of how galaxies evolve providing infrared data at an unprecedented level of detail and clarity, it adds.  

Indian users couldn't resist commenting on the captivating spiral galaxy image which was posted by NASA Hubble. 

One of the users wrote, “A breathtaking glimpse into the cosmos, NGC 4689 exemplifies the celestial beauty and mystery that Hubble reveals."

Another user commented “That's some royal beauty! Love how the cosmos holds such majestic wonders."

Another user added, “Those fire works, or the star burst regions, makes the atmosphere wild in the scene."

Another added, “Those fire works, or the star burst regions, makes the atmosphere wild in the scene"

"If there is such thing as favourite constellation, Coma Berencie is the one!," another user wrote.