74 ASTRONOMY • JUNE 2018
Blue stars,
blue spiral
The universe may contain
a trillion galaxies, but
you’d have to search long
and hard to find one more
appealing than NGC 1964.
This spiral lies 70 million
light-years from Earth in
the constellation Lepus
the Hare. Its bright central
bulge is filled with older
stars, which glow distinctly
yellow. Two tightly coiled
spiral arms emerge from
the bulge while two
other arms wind more
loosely. The hot, young
stars within these arms
shine with a characteristic
bluish hue. Part of NGC
1964’s allure undoubtedly
comes from the handful of
10th- and 11th-magnitude
foreground stars in our
galaxy. ESO/JEAN-CHRISTOPHE LAMBRYBREAK
THROUGH