The galaxy is staring at us face on, making for some great photos

Jun 22, 2013 15:01 GMT  ·  By

The universe is obviously vast and the number of galaxies in it unfathomable. But most of those galaxies are too away for us to get too much info from them. And with the ones closeby, we can only see them from one spot.

How they're oriented, in relation to Earth, makes a huge difference in what we can learn about. It's rare that a galaxy displays itself in all its glory for us.

Messier 61 is one of these galaxies that don't mind showing it all. We can stare at the galaxy face-on which makes it a great target for space wallpapers. But it also makes it a great target for scientists.

This Hubble photo shows Messier 61 in all its splendor. Apart from being gorgeous, the galaxy stands out because we've found six supernovae in it, placing it at the very far end of the spectrum.