Caldwell 48
Caldwell 48, also known as NGC 2775, is a spiral galaxy. This image of Caldwell 48 combines visible, infrared, and ultraviolet observations taken by Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 in 2019. It features the galaxy’s large, yellowish, central bulge filled with old stars, encircled by tightly wound spiral arms decorated by dark dust and clusters of young, blue stars. Astronomers used Hubble to study young stars in the galaxy’s spiral arms to better understand star formation there.
Caldwell 48 has an apparent magnitude of 11 and is located 67 million light-years away in the constellation Cancer. It was discovered by astronomer William Herschel in 1783 and is visible in clear, dark skies using a small telescope. Resolving its spiral arms, however, is incredibly difficult even with a large telescope. The best time of year to observe it is late winter in the Northern Hemisphere or late summer in the Southern Hemisphere.
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Lee and the PHANGS-HST Team; Acknowledgment: Judy Schmidt (Geckzilla)
For more information about Hubble’s observations of Caldwell 48, see: www.spacetelescope.org/images/potw2026a/
For Hubble's Caldwell catalog website and information on how to find these objects in the night sky, visit:
www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/hubble-s-caldwell-catalog
Caldwell 48
Caldwell 48, also known as NGC 2775, is a spiral galaxy. This image of Caldwell 48 combines visible, infrared, and ultraviolet observations taken by Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 in 2019. It features the galaxy’s large, yellowish, central bulge filled with old stars, encircled by tightly wound spiral arms decorated by dark dust and clusters of young, blue stars. Astronomers used Hubble to study young stars in the galaxy’s spiral arms to better understand star formation there.
Caldwell 48 has an apparent magnitude of 11 and is located 67 million light-years away in the constellation Cancer. It was discovered by astronomer William Herschel in 1783 and is visible in clear, dark skies using a small telescope. Resolving its spiral arms, however, is incredibly difficult even with a large telescope. The best time of year to observe it is late winter in the Northern Hemisphere or late summer in the Southern Hemisphere.
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Lee and the PHANGS-HST Team; Acknowledgment: Judy Schmidt (Geckzilla)
For more information about Hubble’s observations of Caldwell 48, see: www.spacetelescope.org/images/potw2026a/
For Hubble's Caldwell catalog website and information on how to find these objects in the night sky, visit:
www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/hubble-s-caldwell-catalog