Euclid's NGC 6744

Here Euclid captures NGC 6744, one of the largest spiral galaxies just beyond our local group. It's a typical example of the type of galaxy currently forming most of the stars in the nearby universe. Euclid's large field of view covers the entire galaxy, revealing its spiral structure on a larger scale. This detail includes feather-like lanes of dust emerging as spurs from the spiral arms. Euclid's observations will allow scientists to not only count the galaxy's individual stars, but also trace the wider distribution of stars and dust, as well as mapping the dust associated with the gas that fuels new star formation. Spiral arms are important in galaxies as they move and compress gas to foster star formation not seen between spiral arms. It's important to note that spiral arms are still not well understood, even though they have been observed in thousands of galaxies for over 100 years. Remember that all the gas and solar systems revolve around the center of a galaxy, but the spiral arms do not. Euclid hopes to unravel the physics behind the structure of spirals. Interestingly, Euclid found a new dwarf satellite galaxy. This was a surprise given that NGC 6744 has been intensively studied in the past.