NASA shares mesmerising image of Galaxy NGC 5033; netizens call it ‘sensational’

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Hubble Space Telescope has captured remarkable view of NGC 5033, a spiral galaxy that shines brightly thanks to its active galactic nucleus.

The Hubble Space Telescope which launched in 1990 changed the fundamental understanding of the universe right from determining the atmospheric composition of planets around other stars to discovering dark energy.

Coming back to the image shared by Hubble, NGC 5033, which is located approximately 40 million light-years away in the Canes Venatici constellation, shares notable features with the Milky Way, NASA states. It added that both galaxies stretch roughly 100,000 light-years across and display spiral arms filled with blue regions, marking areas of active star formation.

Due to its relative proximity to Earth, NGC 5033 provides astronomers with an excellent opportunity to study the intricate details of its glowing nucleus and further understand the behavior of galaxies with active cores, the US space agency stated.

In the image shared by NASA Hubble, it shows the close-up shot of a spiral galaxy which is surrounded by spiral arms filled with dark dust and vibrant blue star-forming regions.

Netizens too were captivated by the image shared by NASA's Hubble. One person described it as "Sensational," while another enthusiastically commented, "Smash." Another user labeled it "Fancy," with one more calling it "madness." "I'm in love," expressed a different user, reflecting the widespread admiration for the stunning image.

Meanwhile, Boeing's Starliner is scheduled to undock from the International Space Station (ISS) and return without its crew members – NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore – on Friday, September 6. NASA said in a statement on August 30 that Starliner is scheduled to "autonomously undock" from the space station at around 6:04 pm EDT Friday (or IST 3:30 am Saturday) "to begin the journey home, weather conditions permitting".

After undocking, Starliner is expected to take around six hours to reach the landing zone at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico. Starliner is expected to land on Earth around 9:30 am (IST) on Saturday, September 7. Starliner crew Butch Wilmore and Sunita Williams will remain aboard the space station as part of the Expedition 71/72 crew on NASA's Crew-9 mission, aboard SpaceX Dragon craft, in February 2025.