NGC 1672 – Hubble Space Telescope Image
NGC 1672 – Hubble Space Telescope Image
NGC 1672, a barred spiral galaxy in the constellation Dorado, sweeps across this Hubble view in a rich arrangement of luminous arms, dark lanes and finely scattered points of light. Its brilliant central region anchors the composition, while broad, uneven spirals curl outwards through white and blue light, threaded with warmer pink and red patches. Seen from a distance of 60 million light years, the galaxy appears at once coherent and extraordinarily intricate.
The strongest contrast gathers around the centre, where concentrated brightness gives way abruptly to darker material. Beyond it, the arms do not form smooth, uniform curves: they break into knots, ridges and filament-like passages, creating a layered structure that shifts between crisp detail and diffuse haze. The result is less like a diagram of a spiral than a vast, textured system whose order becomes apparent gradually.
A closer look
In the upper-left quadrant, a compact concentration of bright points stands sharply against the surrounding darkness. From there, the eye follows the galaxy’s curving structure towards the luminous core and onwards into the more open right-hand side, where diffuse material seems to dissolve into deep blue-black space. Small red and pink inclusions punctuate the cooler arms, adding warmth without overwhelming their predominantly white-blue glow.
Near the lower centre, a faint streak crosses one of the darker regions, while along the lower edge dim patches and narrow filaments emerge only on sustained viewing. Elsewhere, bright knots sit within rugged stretches of the arms, separated by shadowed channels. These changes in texture are particularly compelling at large scale: some passages look softly blended, while neighbouring areas appear granular and sharply articulated.
Hubble’s clarity preserves both the commanding form of the galaxy and its quieter detail. NGC 1672 is officially classified as both a spiral and a barred galaxy; here, that grand architecture is presented through contrasts of brilliance and obscurity rather than through a simple, symmetrical outline.
Image details and provenance
- Subject: NGC 1672
- Object type: Barred spiral galaxy
- Constellation: Dorado
- Distance from Earth: 60 million light years
- Telescope: Hubble Space Telescope
- Original release date: 3 April 2007, 15:00
- Image credit: NASA , ESA
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