(Phys.org) -- This image, taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space
Telescope, shows a detailed view of the spiral arms on one side
of the galaxy Messier 99. Messier 99 is a so-called grand design
spiral, with long, large and clearly defined spiral arms giving
it a structure somewhat similar to the Milky Way. Lying around
50 million light-years away, Messier 99 is one of over a
thousand galaxies that make up the Virgo Cluster, the closest
cluster of galaxies to us. Messier 99 itself is relatively
bright and large, meaning it was one of the first galaxies to be
discovered, way back in the 18th century. This earned it a place
in Charles Messiers famous catalog of astronomical objects. In
recent years, a number of unexplained phenomena in Messier 99
have been studied by astronomers. Among these is the nature of
one of the brighter stars visible in this image. Cataloged as
PTF 10fqs, and visible as a yellow-orange star in the top-left
corner of this image, it was first spotted by the Palomar
Transient Facility, which sc