Trey Abbe

Copy Editor

Trey is deeply grounded in his home life and enjoys exploring his creative side through interests such as Star Wars, comics, and 3D printing. A lifelong sky-watcher, he’s fascinated by the cosmos and often steps outside to catch a clear night’s view of the stars. He finds balance and relaxation in music as well, often unwinding with a guitar in hand.

All articles by Trey Abbe

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AM7 Mount Replaces CGX-L

Recent Topics

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Astronomy Picture of the Day

2026-04-05

NGC 3310: A Starburst Spiral Galaxy

Image Credit: AAO ITSO Office, Gemini Obs./AURA & T. A. Rector (U. Alaska Anchorage)

The party is still going on in spiral galaxy NGC 3310. Roughly 100 million years ago, NGC 3310 likely collided with a smaller galaxy causing the large spiral galaxy to light up with a tremendous burst of star formation. The changing gravity during the collision created density waves that compressed existing clouds of gas and triggered the star-forming party. The featured image from the Gemini North Telescope shows the galaxy in great detail, color-coded so that pink highlights gas while white and blue highlight stars. Some of the star clusters in the galaxy are quite young, indicating that starburst galaxies may remain in star-burst mode for quite some time. NGC 3310 spans about 50,000 light years, lies about 50 million light years away, and is visible with a small telescope towards the constellation of Great Bear Ursa Major.