This is galaxy UGC 9684, located about 240 million light-years away.
It turns out that UGC 9684 is a very active star-forming galaxy, calculated as producing one solar mass worth of stars every few years!
This high level of star formation also means that UGC 9684 is home to a lot of supernovae, explosions that occur at the end of massive stars’ lives. It’s hosted four supernova-like events since 2006, putting it up there with the most active supernova-producing galaxies.
A spiral galaxy in the center of a dark background, surrounded by a few distant galaxies and nearby stars. The galaxy stretches diagonally across the center of the frame — from lower left to upper right — and is slightly tilted toward the viewer. Its cloudy disk is threaded with dust and holds no clear arms. A bar of light extends across the disk from the glowing core. A faint halo of gas surrounds the disk.
Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, C. Kilpatrick
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