Hubble telescope captures three galaxies in epic photo
The subject of this image is a group of three galaxies, collectively known as NGC 7764A.
(Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Dalcanton, Dark Energy Survey, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Fermilab (FNAL), Dark Energy Survey Camera (DECam), Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), NoirLab/National Science Foundation/AURA, European Southern Observatory (ESO); Acknowledgment: J. Schmidt)(NEXSTAR) – NASA shared a hypnotizing photo Friday that shows three galaxies all in one photo.
The photo was captured by the Hubble Space Telescope, a joint effort by NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).
The first galaxy can be seen in the bottom right of the photo, described by the European Space Agency as “bowling-ball-shaped.” Near the center of the photo, you can see the second galaxy, with its long tails stretching out from its center. Toward the top right is the third, orange-hued galaxy.
The three galaxies have been given the not-so-catchy combined name of “NGC 7764A.” They’re located about 425 million light-years from Earth.
The galaxies in the top right appear to be “interacting with one another,” the European Space Agency wrote in a post describing the photo.
“The long trails of stars and gas extending from them give the impression that they have both just been struck at great speed, thrown into disarray by the bowling-ball-shaped galaxy to the lower left of the image,” the ESA said. “It is also unclear whether the galaxy to the lower left is interacting with the other two, although they are so relatively close in space that it seems possible that they are.”
“Interacting with one another” doesn’t mean they’re smashing into each other at high speeds, the ESA said. “In reality, interactions between galaxies happen over very long time periods, and galaxies rarely collide head-on with one another.”
Even so, those slow interactions are shown by the wispy edges around the galaxies. The ESA mused it makes the galaxy in the top right look like the USS Enterprise from Star Trek. Do you see the resemblance?
NASA livestreams the Hubble Space Telescope’s view whenever it’s fixed on a target. You can check it out here.
Hubble Space Telescope Captures a Star-Forming Chamaeleon
Hubble Space Telescope image of Chamaeleon Cloud I (a segment of the Chamaeleon Cloud Complex), reveals dusty-dark clouds where stars are forming, dazzling reflection nebulae glowing by the light of bright-blue young stars, and radiant knots called Herbig-Haro objects. Credit: NASA, ESA, K. Luhman and T. Esplin (Pennsylvania State University), et al., and ESO; Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)
This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image captures one of three segments that comprise a 65-light-year wide star-forming region named the Chamaeleon Cloud Complex. The segment in this Hubble composite image, called Chamaeleon Cloud I (Cha I), reveals dusty-dark clouds where stars are forming, dazzling reflection nebulae glowing by the light of bright-blue young stars, and radiant knots called Herbig-Haro objects.
Herbig-Haro objects are bright clumps and arcs of interstellar gas shocked and energized by jets expelled from infant “protostars” in the process of forming. The white-orange cloud at the bottom of the image hosts one of these protostars at its center. Its brilliant white jets of hot gas are ejected in narrow torrents from the protostar’s poles, creating the Herbig-Haro object HH 909A.
The cross-like spikes around bright stars in the image occur when light waves from a very bright point source (like a star) bend around Hubble’s cross-shaped struts that support the telescope’s secondary mirror. As the light waves pass these struts, they coalesce on the other side, creating the bright, spikey starburst effect we see.
Hubble studied Cha I as part of a search for extremely dim, low-mass brown dwarfs. These “failed stars” lie somewhere in size between a large planet and a small star (10 to 90 times the mass of Jupiter), and do not have enough mass to ignite and sustain nuclear fusion in their cores. Hubble’s search found six new low-mass brown dwarf candidates that are helping astronomers better understand these objects.
This 315-million-pixel composite image is comprised of 23 observations made by Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys. Gaps between those observations were filled by 20 Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 images. Any remaining gaps were filled with ground-based data from ESO’s VISTA VIRCAM. To download the full high-resolution version of this image, visit Hubble Captures Chamaeleon Cloud I.
Hubble Space Telescope Focuses on NGC 1705
Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have captured a striking new photo of the dwarf galaxy NGC 1705.
This Hubble image shows NGC 1705, a dwarf galaxy located 18.7 million light-years away in the constellation of Pictor. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / R. Chandar.
NGC 1705 resides approximately 18.7 million light-years away in the southern constellation of Pictor.
Also known as ESO 158-13, IRAS 04531-5326 and LEDA 16282, this galaxy was discovered on December 5, 1834 by the English astronomer John Herschel.
NGC 1705 has a super star cluster, called NGC1750-1, located near its galactic center.
The galaxy is a member of the Dorado Group, a collection of over 10 spiral and elliptical galaxies.
“NGC 1705 is a cosmic oddball,” the Hubble astronomers said.
“It is small, irregularly shaped, and has recently undergone a spate of star formation known as a starburst.”
“Despite these eccentricities, NGC 1705 and other dwarf irregular galaxies like it can provide valuable insights into the overall evolution of galaxies.”
“Dwarf irregular galaxies tend to contain few elements other than hydrogen or helium, and are considered to be similar to the earliest galaxies that populated the Universe,” they noted.
The image of NGC 1705 is made up of observations from Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) in the ultraviolet, near-infrared, and optical parts of the spectrum.
Seven filters were used to sample various wavelengths.
The color results from assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter.
“The data shown in this Hubble image come from a series of observations designed to unveil the interplay between stars, star clusters, and ionized gas in nearby star-forming galaxies,” the researchers said.
“By observing a specific wavelength of light known as H-alpha with Hubble’s WFC3 instrument, we aimed to discover thousands of emission nebulae — regions created when hot, young stars bathe the clouds of gas surrounding them in ultraviolet light, causing them to glow.”
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