September 2, 2008--A composite image of Messier 83 reveals the shining stars and red hydrogen gasses of the "Thousand-Ruby Galaxy."
The image was captured by the ESO/MPG 2.2-meter (7.2 feet) telescope in Chile's arid mountainous Atacama Desert on August 25.
UV radiation, created by newly-formed stars in the galactic center, ionizes Messier 83's hydrogen and causes its reddish glow.
The dramatic pinwheel galaxy is some 15 million light-years from Earth, but appears in many ways much like a smaller version of our own Milky Way.
--Brian Handwerk
—Image by ESO
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