NGC 3079

If you could speed up time and watch this galaxy evolve, the center of NGC 3079 would bubble with hot gas not unlike the shallow lava pits of Hawaii. A burst of star formation is creating tremendous stellar winds and accelerating particles and gas to many thousands of light years above (and beneath) the plane of the galaxy. These filaments of gas glow strongly in the emission given off by excited hydrogen atoms. The Hubble Space Telescope image obviously shows this feature with much more clarity. Interestingly, this gas will not reach escape velocity, but will rain back down onto the plane of the galaxy and potentially trigger more star formation! This colorful spiral galaxy is at a distance of 50 million light years away.

This image was taken as part of Advanced Observing Program (AOP) program at Kitt Peak Visitor Center during 2014.