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| Galaxy Pair NGC 3314 is a chance alignment of a pair of galaxies some 140 million light years distant toward the constellation Hydra. The foreground galaxy, which is a spiral galaxy known as NGC 3314a, is located directly in front of the background galaxy, which is a spiral galaxy known as NGC 3314b. This unusual alignment provides an opportunity to study dark, obscuring dust in the foreground galaxy, which is seen in silhouette against star light from the background galaxy and which otherwise would be invisible. Dark, spiral lanes of dust of the foreground galaxy are clearly visible in the image. The small, red patch visible at the center of the image is the nucleus of the background galaxy, which is reddened by dust in the foreground galaxy. |
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