Galaxy NGC 7424 in Grus
author: ESO/Novapix
reference: a-gax74-24001
Image Size 300 DPI: 15 * 17 cm
Composite colour-coded image of spiral galaxy, NGC 7424, at a distance of 40 million light-years. This galaxy is classified as "SAB(rs)cd", meaning that it is intermediate between normal spirals (SA) and strongly barred galaxies (SB) and that it has rather open arms with a small central region. It also shows many ionised regions as well as clusters of young and massive stars. Ten young massive star clusters can be identified whose size span the range from 1 to 200 light-years. The galaxy itself is roughly 100,000 light-years across, that is, quite similar in size to our own Milky Way galaxy. Images obtained with the multi-mode VIMOS instrument on the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT).