Zoom on NGC 4522

Zooming in on NGC 4522, an edge-on spiral galaxy where extremely hot gas within the galaxy is literally shaping its destiny. Stripped of its gas and dust, galaxies such as this are robbed of their ability to produce stars. The galaxy is part of the Virgo galaxy cluster and its rapid motion within the cluster results in strong winds across the galaxy as the gas within moves in the opposite direction to the galaxy's motion. Scientists estimate that the galaxy is moving at more than 10 million kilometres per hour. A number of newly formed star clusters that developed in the stripped gas can be seen in the Hubble image.