Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Kennicutt (University of Arizona) and the SINGS legacy team

Galaxy NGC 7793, located approximately 10 million light-years away, is a member of the Sculptor group of galaxies. This galaxy cluster, named after the constellation in which it resides, is one of the closest to our own Local Group of galaxies. This image was captured as part of the Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxy Survey (SINGS) Legacy Project using the telescope's Infrared Array Camera (IRAC).

As the "glowing" red emission maps out, Spitzer is able to pierce through dense clouds of gas and dust that comprise the spiral disk, revealing new star formation that is driving the evolution of the galaxy.

The SINGS image is a four channel color composite, where blue indicates emission at 3.6 microns, green corresponds to 4.5 microns, and red to 5.8 and 8.0 microns. The contribution from starlight (measured at 3.6 microns) in this picture has been subtracted from the 5.8 and 8 micron images to enhance the visibility of the dust features.