In the constellation Eridanus, in the region known as “The River”, the galaxy NGC 1637 shines brightly.

Located about 38 million light-years away, this #HubbleFriday target is a galaxy that has witnessed the birth of countless new stars.

In the spiral arms of the galaxy, there are often clusters of pink clouds with bright blue stars. These pink hues are caused by ultraviolet light emitted by young, massive stars in the clouds, which excites hydrogen atoms to glow.

This is in stark contrast to the warm yellow glow of the galaxy's center, where older, reddish stars are densely packed.

Image description:

A spiral galaxy fills the image. Its disk has many bright red spots where stars are forming, dark reddish dust filaments that obscure the light, and bluish glowing areas where older stars are concentrated. At its center is a large, glowing yellow oval where two spiral arms wind across the galaxy's disk. One side of the disk appears round (bottom of the image), while the other side appears square (top of the image).

 

Image credits: ESA/Hubble & NASA, D. Thilker