Starburst Galaxy MCG+07-33-027 in Hercules: A Lonely Birthplace | Hubble
This image was taken by the NASA/European Space Agency Hubble Space Telescope’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), and shows a starburst galaxy named MCG+07-33-027. This galaxy lies around 300 million light-years away from us, and is currently experiencing an extraordinarily high rate of star formation—a starburst. Normal galaxies produce only a couple of new stars per year, but starburst galaxies can produce a hundred times more than that. As MCG+07-33-027 is seen face-on, the galaxy’s spiral arms and the bright star-forming regions within them are clearly visible and easy for astronomers to study.
In order to form newborn stars, the parent galaxy has to hold a large reservoir of gas. This is slowly depleted to spawn stars over time. For galaxies in a state of starburst, this intense period of star formation has to be triggered—often this happens due to a collision with another galaxy. MCG+07-33-027, however, is special. While many galaxies are located within a large cluster of galaxies, MCG+07-33-027 is a field galaxy. This means it is rather isolated. Thus, the triggering of the starburst was most likely not due to a collision with a neighboring or passing galaxy and astronomers are still speculating about the cause.
Release Date: July 11, 2016
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