On Monday, the Hubble Space Telescope released this image of a galaxy, known as IC 2051, positioned about 85 million light-years away in the southern constellation of Mensa.
This galaxy was observed for a Hubble study on galactic bulges, the bright round central region of spiral galaxies. Spiral galaxies like IC 2051 are shaped a bit like flying saucers when seen from the side; they comprise a thin, flat disc, with a bulky bulge of stars in the centre that extends above and below the disc. These bulges are thought to play a key role in how galaxies evolve, and to influence the growth of the supermassive black holes lurking at the centres of most spirals.
Find out more about galactic discs and bulges in the original post by ESA/Hubble & NASA.
Photo: Patrick Hendry / Unsplash