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Universe of the Hubble Space Telescope 2000 Calendar

NGC 1808 is a barred spiral galaxy located some 40 million light years away toward the constellation Colombia. The galaxy is undergoing an episode of intense star formation near its very center, perhaps triggered by rotation of the bar or by material transported inward along the bar. In this image, the yellow light is produced by old, low-mass stars, and the blue light is produced by glowing hydrogen powered by young, high-mass stars. The new star formation is organized into clusters of between 10 and 100 light years in diameter, and filaments of dark, obscuring dust are mixed in with the gas and stars. The image shows a region that is about 3000 light years across.