Hubble's image shows the spiral galaxy UGC 10043, about 150 million light-years away in the constellation Serpens, seen directly from the side. Its disc appears as a thin line cut by a thick dust lane, while a glowing, egg-shaped central bulge rises well above and below the disc. The bulge is unusually large, possibly because the galaxy has been drawing gas from a nearby dwarf galaxy, which may also explain why its disc is warped. The picture is a composite of two sets of Hubble data taken 23 years apart, in 2000 and 2023. Such side-on views reveal structures that are usually hidden in face-on pictures.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.