Pictured: Stunning images of spiral galaxy 50million light years away



It can usually only be seen as a faint fuzzy spot through the average telescope, but these stunning images show just how magnificent the spiral galaxy NGC 7331 can be.



The galaxy is around 50million light years away in the northern constellation, Pegasus, and is similar in size to our own 'Milky Way' galaxy.

The long-exposure photographs were taken with a LAICA camera (Large Area Imager) by the Calar Alto Observatory, based in southern Spain, who attached a camera to a 3.5m telescope to capture the impressive shots.

Diffuse clouds made up from dust and complex organic molecules can be seen in the long-range images of NGC 7331



The outstanding spiral structure of NGC 7331 is seen shining behind a number of stars belonging to our galaxy the Milky Way, and in front of a rich background populated by an overwhelming variety of distant galaxies.

A thin haze of the ghostly, fuzzy and dusty nebulae known as galactic cirrus is visible. The diffuse clouds are made up from dust, complex organic molecules and gas.

NGC 7331 was discovered by the astronomer Wilhelm Herschel in 1784. The sharpness of the images are believed to represent the deepest view of the region to date.

The galaxy was discovered in 1784 by Wilhelm Herschel

