PIA04924: Galaxy NGC 300

Mission: Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) Spacecraft: GALEX Orbiter Instrument: GALEX Telescope Product Size: 1500 samples x 1500 lines Produced By: California Institute of Technology Full-Res TIFF: PIA04924.tif (6.134 MB) Full-Res JPEG: PIA04924.jpg (437.5 kB)

Original Caption Released with Image: This image of the nearby spiral galaxy NGC 300 was taken by Galaxy Evolution Explorer in a single orbit exposure of 27 minutes on October 10, 2003. NGC 300 lies 7 million light years from our Milky Way galaxy and is one of a group of galaxies in the constellation Sculptor. NGC 300 is often used as a prototype of a spiral galaxy because in optical images it displays flowing spiral arms and a bright central region of older (and thus redder) stars. The Galaxy Evolution Explorer image taken in ultraviolet light shows us that NGC 300 is an efficient star-forming galaxy. The bright blue regions in the Galaxy Evolution Explorer image reveal new stars forming all the way into the nucleus of NGC 300. Image Credit: NASA/JPL/California Institute of Technology