M74 Spiral Galaxy (IMAGE)

European Space Agency

M74 Spiral Galaxy

Caption

M74 (also known as NGC 628) is a face-on spiral galaxy located about 24 million light years from Earth in the constellation Pisces. The infrared SPIRE images trace the cold dust between the stars, clearly showing the galaxy’s spiral structure. They also contain many faint dots that are actually distant galaxies. These galaxies contain dust that radiates at infrared wavelengths, but because they are much further away, we cannot see the structure in the galaxies.

Credit

ESA and the SPIRE consortium

Usage Restrictions

None

License

Licensed content

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.