The Galactic Ring of NGC 6782

Do spiral galaxies look the same in every color? NGC 6782 demonstrates colorfully that they do not. In visible light , NGC 6782 appears to be a normal spiral galaxy with a bright bar across its center. In ultraviolet light , however, the central region blossoms into a spectacular and complex structure highlighted by a circumnuclear ring, as shown in the above representative color Hubble Space Telescope image. Many of the young stars that formed in a recent burst of star formation emit the ultraviolet light . Astronomers are studying possible relationships between the central bar and the ring . Light we see today from NGC 6782 left about 180 million years ago, while dinosaurs roamed the Earth . The galaxy spans about 80,000 light-years and can be seen with a telescope toward the constellation of Pavo .