Beautiful Dwarf Galaxy DDO 190 Imaged in Detail

Using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, a team of astronomers recently has snapped a sharp and very clear image of the dwarf galaxy DDO 190, whose name comes from the David Dunlap Observatory. The latter manages the catalog in which this object is included.

Scientists classify DDO 190 as a dwarf irregular galaxy. It lies around 9 million light-years away from Earth, which basically puts it in our backyard, astronomically speaking. The object is part of the loosely bound Messier 94 group of galaxies.

The members of this galaxy cluster do not interact gravitationally too much, experts say. Though part of a larger structure, DDO 190's closest neighbor, the equally-dwarf galaxy DDO 187, is located at least 3 million light-years away.

“In contrast, many of the Milky Way’s companion galaxies, such as the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds, reside within a fifth or so of that distance, and even the giant spiral of the Andromeda Galaxy is closer to the Milky Way than DDO 190 is to its nearest neighbor,” NASA experts say.