Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

The galaxy Messier 74, also known as the "Phantom Galaxy," is seen in ultraviolet light in data from NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX). Located in the constellation of Pisces, Messier 74 is about 30 million light years away.

Also known as NGC 628, this is considered to be a classic example of a “grand design spiral galaxy” due to it two sweeping, symmetric spiral arms. The arms are particularly evident in this GALEX image, which highlights regions dominated by young, massive stars that are hot and brightest in ultraviolet light.

Messier 74 is particularly striking as the galaxy’s disk is nearly face-on to us. Stars in spiral galaxies are mostly found in a thin pancake-like disk, but this face-on view is particularly useful for tracing out the shape of the spiral arms.

Located in the constellation of Pisces, Messier 74 is located about 30 million light years away. With a diameter of about 10 arc minutes, the galaxy is about a third as wide as the full moon. However, this “Phantom Galaxy” is known for having a very low surface brightness, which means it is far too faint to see with the naked eye, and can even be challenging for small backyard telescopes.

Foreground stars in the Milky Way are seen as yellow dots, while faint blue-white patches around the image are more distant background galaxies.

In this image, blue and yellow correspond to far- and near-ultraviolet light with wavelengths of 150 and 230 nanometers, respectively.

Provider: Galaxy Evolution Explorer

Image Source: /image/galex/NGC628

Curator: Galaxy Evolution Explorer, Pasadena, CA, USA

Image Use Policy: Public Domain