On August 20, NASA unveiled the latest images of the stunning spiral galaxy known as NGC 1385, captured by the Hubble Space Telescope.
Latest updated image of galaxy NGC 1385 captured by Hubble. (Photo: NASA).
Discovered for the first time on November 17, 1784, by German-born British astronomer William Herschel, NGC 1385 shines brilliantly in the vastness of space and has been likened to a “cosmic jewel.” This barred spiral galaxy is located in the Fornax constellation, approximately 68 million light-years away from Earth.
The beautiful image was taken by the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) on the Hubble Space Telescope. The instrument performed separate exposures in ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared wavelengths, using five filters to sample different light wavelengths. The vivid colors of the galaxy result from assigning different colors to each monochrome image, according to NASA.
Since its installation in 2009, WFC3 has become the primary tool of the Hubble Telescope due to its reliability and versatility. After 12 years, the device continues to operate stably and consistently sends valuable observations back to Earth.
Meanwhile, Hubble has been in orbit for over 31 years and is beginning to show signs of “aging.” Two months ago, the telescope’s main computer experienced a failure due to degrading memory, causing the device to halt operations for more than four weeks. NASA plans to replace Hubble with a more advanced telescope named James Webb, which is scheduled to launch later this year.
