Far beyondthe localgroup of galaxies lie NGC 3621,some 22 million light-years away.Found in the serpentine southern constellatio Hydra,the loose spiral arms of this gorgeou island universe are loaded withluminous young star clusters and dark dust lanes.Still, for earthbound astronomers NGC 3621 is not jus anotherpretty face-on spiral galaxy.Some of it brighterstars have been used a standardcandles to establish important estimates ofextragalactic distances and th scaleof the Universe.This color picture was constructed from astronomical imagedata recorded with the Very Large Telescop Antu, at ParanalObservatory in Chile. At the original resolution, individual hot supergiant stars canbe identified and studied across NGC 3621.
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