A striking image of a giant Milky Way ''clone'' has been captured by astronomers.
The large spiral galaxy named NGC 6744 Photo: ESO/PA
The bird's eye view of NGC 6744 gives a good idea of what our own galaxy would look like to a passing space traveller.
The spiral galaxy is around 30 million light years away in the southern constellation of Pavo, the Peacock.
In the new image from European Southern Observatory astronomers it is seen almost face on, so that the striking spiral arms are clearly visible.
NGC 6744 would almost be an identical twin of the Milky Way were it not for its size.
While our own galaxy is roughly 100,000 light years across, it has nearly twice that diameter.
The dusty spiral arms are home to many glowing star-forming regions, seen in red.
Astronomers took the picture using the 2.2 metre telescope at La Silla, Chile, jointly operated by the Max Planck Society (MPG) and ESO.
The colours have been enhanced by passing the light through special filters.
The Telegraph
2:47AM BST 01 Jun 2011
Astronomers took the picture using the 2.2 metre telescope at La Silla, Chile, jointly operated by the Max Planck Society (MPG) and ESO.
The colours have been enhanced by passing the light through special filters.
The Telegraph
2:47AM BST 01 Jun 2011
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