During the 15 years NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has orbited the Earth, it has taken more than 700,000 photos of the cosmos; images that have awed, astounded and even confounded astronomers and the public.
NASA released new views today of two of the most well-known objects Hubble has ever observed: the Whirlpool Galaxy (spiral galaxy M51) [left] and the Eagle Nebula [right]. These new images are among the largest and sharpest Hubble has ever taken. They were made with Hubble's newest camera, the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). The images are so incredibly sharp, they could be enlarged to billboard size and still retain stunning details.
For the 15th anniversary, scientists used the ACS to record a new region of the eerie-looking Eagle Nebula. The Eagle Nebula image reveals a tall, dense tower of gas being sculpted by ultraviolet light from a group of massive, hot stars. The new Whirlpool Galaxy image showcases the spiral galaxy's classic features, from its curving arms, where newborn stars reside, to its yellowish central core that serves as home for older stars. A feature of considerable interest is the companion galaxy located at the end of one of the spiral arms.
Credits
Whirlpool Galaxy: NASA, ESA, S. Beckwith (STScI), and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)Eagle Nebula: NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | Whirlpool Galaxy, M51, NGC 5194/5 (left); Eagle Nebula, M16, NGC 6611, IC 4703 (right) |
| Object Description | Face-on Spiral Galaxy with Companion (left); Gaseous Nebula in Open Cluster (right) |
| Distance | Whirlpool Galaxy (left); About 31 million light-years (9.6 Megaparsecs); Eagle Nebula (right): About 6,500 light-years (2,000 parsecs) |
| Dimensions | The left image is 9.6 arcminutes (87,000 light-years or 27,000 parsecs) wide. The right image is 3.2 arcminutes (6 light-years or 1.9 parsecs) wide. |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | The Whirlpool Galaxy image (left) was created from HST data from proposal : S. Beckwith (STScI), R. Kennicutt Jr. (University of Arizona), and H. Bond, C. Christian, L. Frattare, F. Hamilton, Z. Levay, M. Mutchler, K. Noll, and T. Royle (The Hubble Heritage Team, STScI). Note: High level science products (combined and mosaiced fits files for each filter) are available at: The Eagle Nebula image (right) was created from HST data from proposal : K. Noll, H. Bond, C. Christian, L. Frattare, F. Hamilton, Z. Levay, M. Mutchler, and T. Royle (The Hubble Heritage Team, STScI). |
| Instrument | HST>ACS/WFC |
| Exposure Dates | January 18-22, 2005, Exposure Time: 9.0 hours (left); November 4 - 7, 2004, Exposure Time: 3.4 hours (right) |
| Filters | Whirlpool Galaxy (left); F435W (B), F555W (V), F658N (Halpha + [N II]), F814W (I) Eagle Nebula (right): F435W (B), F555W (V), F502N ([O III]), F658N (Halpha + [N II]), F814W (I) |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | Whirlpool Galaxy (left) Blue: F435W (B) Green: F555W (V) Red: F658N (Halpha + [N II]) + F814W (I) Eagle Nebula (right) Blue: F435W (B) + F502N ([O III]) Green: F555W (V) + F658N (Halpha + [N II]) + F502N ([O III]) Red: F658N (Halpha + [N II]) + F814W (I) |
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | A name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object. |
| Object Description | The type of astronomical object. |
| R.A. Position | Right ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Dec. Position | Declination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Constellation | One of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears. |
| Distance | The physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs. |
| Dimensions | The physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky. |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description |
|
| Instrument | The science instrument used to produce the data. |
| Exposure Dates | The date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time. |
| Filters | The camera filters that were used in the science observations. |
| About The Image | |
| Image Credit | The primary individuals and institutions responsible for the content. |
| Publication Date | The date and time the release content became public. |
| Color Info | A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented. |
| Orientation | The rotation of the image on the sky with respect to the north pole of the celestial sphere. |
