Located in the northern constellation Camelopardalis, the giraffe, NGC 2336 or LEDA 21033 is located at a distance of 109 million light years away from Earth.
"NGC 2336 was discovered in 1876 by the German astronomer Wilhelm Tempel , using a 28 cm telescope," explain the Hubble astronomers. "This Hubble image is much better than the view Tempel would have had: Hubble's main mirror is 2.4 meters wide, almost ten times the size of the telescope Tempel used."
This barred spiral galaxy spans more than 200,000 light-years and its spiral arms are packed with young stars, in an explosion of brilliant blue light.
"In contrast, the redder central part of the galaxy is dominated by older stars ," they explain, in characteristic red. "In 1987, NGC 2336 experienced a Type Ia supernova, the only supernova observed in the galaxy since its discovery 111 years earlier."
Reference: ESA / NASA / HUBBLE
