Hubble’s colorful snapshots show that the universe always looks like it's in a holiday spirit. The dwarf irregular galaxy UGC 8091 is an opulent example. The dizzying interplay of matter and energy bubbles up to create dazzling blue, newborn stars that look like a festive string of lights. They are swaddled in glowing cocoons of hot, pink hydrogen gas. The galaxy is a collection of approximately 1 billion stars. That sounds like a lot, but it is 1/100th the stellar population inside our full-grown Milky Way galaxy.

This little galaxy came late to the party. The early universe was awash in dwarf galaxies that eventually merged to build up the majestic spiral galaxies around us today. Located 7 million light-years away, UGC 8091 more recently started showing off a glittering tapestry.