NASA and ESA's Hubble Space Telescope has captured a stunning image of the spiral galaxy NGC 2090, located in the constellation Columba. This galaxy plays a significant role in the Extragalactic Distance Scale Key Project, which aimed to refine the Hubble constant.
NGC 2090 was instrumental in calibrating the Tully-Fisher distance method through observations of Cepheid variable stars. Initial measurements in 1998 estimated its distance at 37 million light-years. Recent data from 2020, however, indicates that NGC 2090 is now approximately 40 million light-years away.
Characterized as a flocculent spiral, NGC 2090 features a patchy, dusty disc with spiral arms that are often faint. The latest Hubble observations, conducted in October 2024, highlight ongoing star formation across the galaxy, showcasing clusters at various evolutionary stages.
The James Webb Space Telescope has also observed NGC 2090, contributing infrared data to enhance our understanding of galaxy evolution.