The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has released a new image of the spiral galaxy NGC 1317, located over 50 million light-years away in the constellation Fornax. The image, captured on May 14, 2025, reveals a bright blue ring, a region characterized by intense star formation and hosting hot, young stars.
NGC 1317 is part of a galaxy pair, though its larger neighbor, NGC 1316, is outside Hubble's view. The image also features a star from our own galaxy, easily identified by its diffraction spikes, and a distant, redder galaxy far beyond NGC 1317.
The image combines data from Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 and Advanced Camera for Surveys, along with data from the ALMA array in the Atacama Desert. These observations allow astronomers to study the connections between cold gas clouds and the formation of new stars. By pinpointing clusters of young stars and measuring their ages and masses, Hubble's data, combined with ALMA's sensitivity to cold gas, helps chart these connections.