Hubble captures a vivid pairing of a galaxy and a star

The image captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope showcases NGC 3783, a bright barred spiral galaxy located approximately 130 million light-years away from Earth. This galaxy also gives its name to the NGC 3783 galaxy group, which is a collection of gravitationally bound galaxies. Galaxy groups, like galaxy clusters, are formations of galaxies, but they are smaller and less massive. While galaxy clusters can contain hundreds or even thousands of galaxies, galaxy groups typically have fewer than 50 members.

The Milky Way, our own galaxy, is part of a galaxy group called the Local Group, which includes two other large galaxies – Andromeda and the Triangulum galaxy – as well as several satellite and dwarf galaxies. The NGC 3783 galaxy group consists of 47 galaxies and appears to be in an early stage of evolution, making it a fascinating subject for further study.