NASA has revealed a stunning insight to a distant galaxy, with an image from the Hubble Space Telescope giving a detailed look at stars forming and exploding in an intergalactic neighbour of the Milky Way.PUBLISHED: 14:39, Mon, Dec 9, 2019 | UPDATED: 14:47, Mon, Dec 9, 2019 NASA has potted the “catastrophic” process in which stars are born and ultimately die in a far away galaxy. The Hubble Space Telescope managed to snap a head-on image of the galaxy NGC 5468 which is 130 million light-years away. The distance emphasises the impressive scope that Hubble possess, with 130 million light-years equalling a mind boggling 764,221,320,362,293,300,000 miles – 764 quintillion miles.In the image, bright spots over the galaxy, which is 110,000 light-years away, bright patches can be seen across NGC 5468 which indicates stars beginning to form.Due to NGC 5468’s position in the universe relative to Earth, Hubble gets a face on preview of the galaxy, allowing to see the spirals of stars, which has made it an excellent subject for NASA.The space agency said: “Some of the most dramatic events in the universe occur when certain stars die — and explode catastrophically in the process.“Such explosions, known as supernovae, mainly occur in a couple of ways.NASA news: Hubble spots exploding stars in distant galaxy stunning image reveals (Image: NASA)Supernovae are dying stars (Image: GETTY)“In one scenario, a massive star depletes its fuel at the end of its life, becoming dynamically unstable and unable to support its bulk, causing it to collapse inward and violently explode.“In another outcome, a white dwarf (the dense remnant of a once-normal star) in an orbiting stellar couple siphons more mass off its companion than it is able to support, igniting runaway nuclear fusion in its core and beginning the supernova process.“Both types result in an intensely bright object in the sky that can rival the light of a whole galaxy.“In the last 20 years the galaxy NGC 5468, visible in this image, has hosted a number of observed supernovae.”READ MORE: Cosmic shock: NASA detects distorted galaxies pulling each other apartThe spiral galaxy NGC 5468 in full (Image: NASA)The Hubble telescope will be retired in 2021 after more than 30 years of service, having been launched in 1990.However, its successor, the more powerful James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), will take over.The infrared machine is so powerful it will reach back to the furthest realms and the earliest moments of the universe.The JWST, which is named after NASA’s second administrator James Webb who served from 1961-1968 who played a major part in the Apollo missions, has the capability of scanning thousands of planets for alien life – even though those planets are thousands of light years away.DON’T MISSNASA shock: Hubble spies the most powerful blast in the universe [IMAGE]NASA shock discovery: Supermassive blackhole creating lots of stars INSIGHT]Haunting Hubble picture reveals the explosive fate of our dying Sun [ANALYSIS]The Hubble telescope will be retired in 2021 after more than 30 years of service, having been launched in 1990 (Image: GETTY)The James Webb Space Telescope will be in action from 2021 (Image: GETTY)One of the major differences between Hubble and JWST will be how far back in time it will be able to see.Hubble can see far into space and is essentially looking back in time as light travels to the craft.Through Hubble, experts have been able to view the formation of the first galaxies, about one billion years after the Big Bang.Hubble in numbers (Image: EXPRESS) However, as JWST is much more powerful, it will be able to see just 0.3 billion years after the Big Bang to when visible light itself was beginning to form.JWST will also be situated much farther out in space than Hubble.Hubble is placed in Earth’s orbit just 570,000 kilometres from the surface, but JWST will be placed an astonishing 1.5 million kilometres from Earth, meaning that if it breaks down while it is up there, it will not be able to be fixed.
NASA news: Hubble spots exploding stars in distant galaxy stunning image reveals – Express.co.uk
