The object in the Hubble photo above is known as J082354.96, a so-called “starburst” galaxy with an unusually high rate of star formation.
It is one of 14 galaxies under investigation in the Lyman Alpha Reference Sample study, which analyses the light emitted by hydrogen atoms. This light is of a known wavelength and it scatters around a lot on dust in a galaxy, so observing the reflections from that dust can produce a lot of information about the galaxy’s makeup.
Originally published by Cosmos as A fishhook in the sky
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