Far beyond [ http://arxiv.org/ab…] the local group [ http://www.anzwers.…] of galaxies lies NGC 3621 [ http://www.seds.org…], some 22 million light-years away. Found in the serpentine southern constellation Hydra [ http://www.astronom…], the loose spiral arms of this gorgeous island universe [ http://www.astr.ua.…galaxies.text ] are loaded with luminous young star clusters and dark dust lanes. Still, for earthbound astronomers NGC 3621 is not just another [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] pretty face-on spiral galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…]. Some of its brighter stars [ http://www.ipac.cal…] have been used as standard candles [ http://www.powersof…] to establish [ http://oposite.stsc…background.html ] important estimates of extragalactic distances [ http://casswww.ucsd…Distances.html ] and the scale of the Universe [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…]. This color picture was constructed from astronomical image data recorded with the Very Large Telescope Antu [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…], at Paranal Observatory in Chile. At the original resolution, individual, hot supergiant stars [ http://www.usm.uni-…windsfromhotstars/wi nds.html ] can be identified and studied across NGC 3621.
Explanation
Far beyond [ http://arxiv.org/ab…] the local group [ http://www.anzwers.…] of galaxies lies NGC 3621 [ http://www.seds.org…], some 22 million light-years away. Found in the serpentine southern constellation Hydra [ http://www.astronom…], the loose spiral arms of this gorgeous island universe [ http://www.astr.ua.…galaxies.text ] are loaded with luminous young star clusters and dark dust lanes. Still, for earthbound astronomers NGC 3621 is not just another [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…] pretty face-on spiral galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…]. Some of its brighter stars [ http://www.ipac.cal…] have been used as standard candles [ http://www.powersof…] to establish [ http://oposite.stsc…background.html ] important estimates of extragalactic distances [ http://casswww.ucsd…Distances.html ] and the scale of the Universe [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…]. This color picture was constructed from astronomical image data recorded with the Very Large Telescope Antu [ http://antwrp.gsfc.…], at Paranal Observatory in Chile. At the original resolution, individual, hot supergiant stars [ http://www.usm.uni-…windsfromhotstars/wi nds.html ] can be identified and studied across NGC 3621.
