This galaxy looks like a cluster of colorful fireworks exploding in space

It seems that us humans aren’t the only ones preparing for the 4th of July. Even distant galaxies like “Kiso 5639” are getting in the holiday spirit, based on some of the latest photos from the Hubble Space Telescope, which show the galaxy (located about 82 million light-years from Earth) looking like a cluster of exploding fireworks.

Hubble reports that this galaxy resembles a fireworks show because, on one end, a cluster of stars are being born. The fact that the galaxy is pancake-shaped with a blazing head and star-studded tail also adds to the effect.

“I think Kiso 5639 is a beautiful, up-close example of what must have been common long ago,” lead researcher Debra Elmegreen explained. “The current thinking is that galaxies in the early universe grow from accreting gas from the surrounding neighborhood. It’s a stage that galaxies, including our Milky Way, must go through as they are growing up.”

It has been predicted that Kiso 5639’s stars are forming because a new gas made its way into the galaxy, causing all of these cosmic births to occur. In the future, Elmegreen predicts that this will also happen in other parts of the galaxy as it continues to spin.

This coming Monday, when we look up into the sky to watch the fireworks explode, we’re definitely going to take a moment to appreciate all the cool space stuff that’s happening out there.