A new Hubble telescope image of a face-on spiral galaxy shows lanes of dust and gas at its center, evidence of ongoing star formation, U.S. astronomers say.

A long-exposure image shows a majestic galaxy titled NGC 4911 located deep within the Coma Cluster of galaxies, which lies 320 million light-years away in the northern constellation of Coma Berenices, a NASA release said Tuesday.

The image required 28 hours of exposure time using Hubble's brand new Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 and the Advanced Camera for Surveys, Britain's Daily Telegraph said.

NASA scientists say the Coma Cluster is one of the densest collections of galaxies in the nearby universe where galaxies often interact violently with each other.

The long wispy formations, seen along the "arms" of the main galaxy, are a result of NGC 4911 and a companion galaxy passing "perilously close to each other," NASA says.

"The high resolution of Hubble's cameras, paired with considerably long exposures, made it possible to observe these faint details," a NASA spokesman said.