'Fuzzy' Elliptical Galaxy NGC 4660 in the Virgo Cluster | Hubble Space Telescope

'Fuzzy' Elliptical Galaxy NGC 4660 in the Virgo Cluster | Hubble Space Telescope

Virgo cluster galaxy NGC 4660, is an elliptical located about 50 million light-years from Earth. Hubble's "eye" is so sharp that it was able to pick out the fuzzy globular clusters that at this distance, look like individual stars bunched up around the galaxies, instead of groupings of stars.

Most elliptical galaxies are composed of older, low-mass stars with a sparse interstellar medium, and they tend to be surrounded by large numbers of globular clusters. An elliptical galaxy is a type of galaxy with an approximately ellipsoidal shape and a smooth, nearly featureless image.

Credit: ESA, NASA and E. Peng (Peking University, Beijing)
Release Date: Aug. 5, 2008

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