The Colorful Cosmos

NGC 1808- In Columba

NGC 1808 is a barred spiral galaxy of some 35,000 light-years across, located about 40 million light-years away in the southern constellation Columba. NGC 1808 is undergoing so much star formation it has been deemed a starburst galaxy. The galaxy is moving away from us at 995 kilometers per second.

NGC 1808 is distinguished by a peculiar and complex nucleus, an unusually warped disk, and strange flows of hydrogen gas out from the central regions. The galaxy’s center is the hotbed of vigorous star formation.