NASA recently shared a captivating and unique photo from the Hubble Space Telescope. It shows a majestic spiral galaxy, NGC 5866, but with a twist: we’re gazing at it from its edge. While many disk galaxies, including our own Milky Way, are incredibly thin, we rarely view them from this perspective.

The Spindle Galaxy, aptly named for its elongated profile, showcases a dramatic dust lane slicing through its center. It’s located roughly 50 million light-years away in the constellation Draco. It offers us a glimpse into the universe’s grand design and the captivating beauty of galaxies seen from an unusual vantage point.

NGC 5866’s dust lane appears dark and reddish, while the brilliance of countless young, blue stars paints the galactic disk. The sharpness of the Hubble image allows us to see the blue disk stretch beyond the prominent dust lane, hinting at the vastness of the galactic plane.

Astronomers believe the Spindle Galaxy has a turbulent past, marked by galactic cannibalism. Evidence suggests it has devoured smaller galaxies over the past billion years. Faint streams of stars, wispy tendrils of dust escaping the main disk, and a neighboring group of galaxies (not visible here) all point toward this theory.

The thinness of disk galaxies is attributed to the nature of their formation. As the gas that forms these galaxies rotates around their center of gravity, it inevitably collides with itself, leading to a flattened disk.

This image from Hubble is a prime example of why the telescope remains such a vital scientific instrument. Not only does it capture stunning celestial objects in remarkable detail, but it also allows us to view galaxies from unique angles. This provides invaluable data for astronomers but educates, inspires, and amazes the general public, too.

[via Tech Times; image credits: NASA, ESA, Hubble; Processing: Ehsan Ebahimian]