Spiral galaxies make up about 70 percent of all observed galaxies, some with large central bulges and tightly wound spiral arms like a fast-spinning ice skater, some with more wide-open arms and smaller bulges and some in various in-between states. NGC 2008, seen here in an image captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, is an Sc galaxy, with S signifying its spiral form and c indicating a small central bulge. The galaxy, located about 425 million miles from Earth in the constellation Pictor, was discovered in 1834 by astronomer John Herschel.
