New 'whirlpool of gold' photo shows starburst galaxy shines

INA – SOURCES
 
A mesmerizing new photo captured bright, golden swirling clouds of gas that generate an exceptionally high rate of star formation.
 
This stellar nursery, a spiral galaxy known as NGC 4303 or Messier 61, located 50 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Virgo as NGC 4303 is one of the largest galactic members of the Virgo Cluster, a large, nearby grouping of galaxies.
 
NGC 4303 was considered a starburst galaxy, where an unusually high amount of stars are born. In turn, studying this type of galaxy helps astronomers to better understand star formation across the universe, according to a statement from the European Southern Observatory (ESO).
 
"Stars form when clouds of cold gas collapse," ESO officials wrote in the statement. "The energetic radiation from newly born stars will heat and ionize the surrounding remaining gas."
 
The photo, taken using the ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile, showed bright swirling clouds of the ionized gas, appearing as a "whirlpool of gold." The swirling clouds were like cosmic breadcrumbs, tracing the path of new stars being born, according to the statement.