NGC 908, located 65 million light-years
towards the constellation of Cetus. This spiral galaxy, is a
so-called starburst galaxy, that is, a galaxy undergoing a phase
where it spawns stars at a frantic rate. Clusters of young and
massive stars can be seen in the spiral arms. Two supernovae,
the explosions of massive stars, have been recorded in the near
past: one in 1994 and another in May of 2011. The galaxy, which
is about 75 000 light-years long, also clearly presents uneven
and thick spiral arms, the one on the left appearing to go
upwards, forming a kind of ribbon. These properties indicate
that NGC 908 most probably suffered a close encounter with
another galaxy, even though none is visible at present.
