Galaxy NGC 4214: A Star-Formation Laboratory

May 12, 2011 9:00AM (EDT)Release ID: 2011-14

Several gas clouds stretch across the image. On the left, there are two large, roughly circular cavities in the gas, surrounded by blobby rings of red and yellow. The cavities are filled by large clusters of blue stars. In the top right, a sequence of smaller clouds shows more green dust enveloped into the red waves. The clouds are set on a star-rich background, showing thousands of small red dots in the distance.

Summary

The dwarf galaxy NGC 4214 is ablaze with young stars and gas clouds. Located around 10 million light-years away in the constellation of Canes Venatici (The Hunting Dogs), the galaxy's close proximity, combined with the wide variety of evolutionary stages among the stars, make it an ideal laboratory to research the triggers of star formation and evolution. This color image was taken using the Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field Camera 3 in December 2009.

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Credits

NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration; Acknowledgment: R. O'Connell (University of Virginia) and the WFC3 Scientific Oversight Committee