QUICK FACTS
What it is: Barred spiral galaxy Messier 61, AKA NGC 4303
Where it is: 55 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo
When it was shared: Oct. 28, 2025
Even before its full science operations have begun, the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile has already helped astronomers find something remarkable. The observatory's first images, revealed in June, contained a deep view of the Virgo cluster, the closest and best-studied cluster of galaxies. And in the bottom-right of the image, eagle-eyed astronomers saw something unexpected — a razor-thin stream of stars arcing away from one of the cluster's galaxies.
