ESO 137-2 (2014)

X marks the spot! ESO137-2 is the large, horizontal galaxy right of center. Somewhat aggressive processing made the X-shaped nucleus more apparent. Observations of our own Milky Way indicate there is a probability it has a similar feature. It could be like this or it could be more peanut-shaped. Another galaxy known to contain this interesting arrangement is NGC 4710.

The brightest star at the lower left is actually a double star. If you look closely you can see a pair of diffraction spikes emanating from it instead of just one.

This data was somewhat difficult to work with as far as generating color goes. The F475W data was a little lacking so I gave it a little oomph in the darks by having the F814W data screen it in just those troublesome areas. The drawback to this is that it makes the colors fairly bland and almost monotone.

Red: F814W
Green: Pseudo
Blue: F475W + F814W

North is NOT up.

Copyright information:
Hubble data is public domain, but I put a lot of work into combining it into beautiful color images. The minimal credit line should read: NASA / ESA / J. Schmidt

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.