Irregular spiral galaxy NGC 5486 hangs against the background of faint distant galaxies in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The galaxy’s thin disk is riddled with clusters of pink star formation that stand out against the diffuse glow of the bright galactic core.

Although this particular galaxy has faint, winding spiral arms, it lies next to the much larger Pinwheel Galaxy, one of the best-known examples of “grand design” spiral galaxies with prominent, well-defined spiral arms. In 2006, Hubble photographed the Pinwheel Galaxy, which at the time was the largest and most detailed picture of a spiral galaxy ever taken by Hubble. NGC 5486 is located 110 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Ursa Major. This observation is based on a series of Hubble images examining the remnants left behind by Type II supernovae.

When massive stars come to the end of their lives, they exude large amounts of gas and dust before ending their lives in massive supernova explosions. In 2004, NGC 5486 experienced a supernova explosion, and astronomers used the sharp vision of Hubble’s Advanced Search Camera to study the aftermath in hopes of learning more about these explosive events.