Hubble telescope spots huge cosmic ball some 55 million light-years away

NASA has released a breathtaking image of a stellar sphere captured by the Hubble Space Telescope. The huge cosmic ball is actually an elliptical galaxy, named Messier 89, located some 55 million light-years away from Earth.

What makes Messier 89 (M89) particularly intriguing is it appears perfectly spherical, an unusual characteristic for elliptical galaxies, which typically tend to be elongated ellipsoids. Scientists believe that this apparently spherical nature of Messier 89 could be a trick of perspective, and the result of its orientation relative to Earth.

M89 was discovered by renowned astronomer Charles Messier in 1781 and is the last ever giant elliptical to be found by Messier, and the most perfectly spherical galaxy in the entire catalogue of 110 objects.

It contains approximately 100 billion stars and is known to house a supermassive black hole at its centre, which is estimated to have one billion times the mass of our Sun.

A sphere of stars ⭐At the upper right of this #HubbleFriday image is the galaxy M89, which contains around 100 billion stars!M89 is about 55 million light-years away. Discover more: https://t.co/LZrbGKyCeA pic.twitter.com/ESWBl2y0YM

— Hubble (@NASAHubble) September 1, 2023

Hubble is one of the most iconic astronomical observatories ever launched into space. Its unique position above Earth's atmosphere provides it with a clear and unobstructed view of the cosmos.

The telescope has truly revolutionized our understanding of the vast universe. Despite being in space for more than three decades, it continues to provide captivating images and valuable data, inspiring both the scientific community and space enthusiasts.