Compass and Scale Illustration for M101

Compass and Scale Illustration for M101

Credits

Illustration: NASA, ESA, and Z. Levay (STScI);
Science: NASA, ESA, CXC, SSC, and STScI

About The Object
Object Name M101, NGC 4547, The Pinwheel Galaxy
Object Description Face-on Spiral Galaxy
R.A. Position 14h 3m 13.0s
Dec. Position 54° 20' 52.99"
Constellation Ursa Major
Distance 21.8 million light-years (6.7 megaparsecs)
Dimensions This image is 18 arcminutes (114,000 light-years or 35,000 parsecs) wide.
About The Data
Data Description Spitzer data: The science team for the Spitzer data include K. Gordon (STScI), C. Engelbracht, G. Rieke, K. Misselt, and J.-D. Smith (University of Arizona), and R. Kennicutt (University of Cambridge). Hubble data: This image was created from HST data from the following proposals: : K. Kuntz (Johns Hopkins University) : F. Bresolin (University of Hawaii) : J. Trauger (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) : J. Mould (NOAO) : Y.-C. Chu (University of Illinois, Urbana) The Hubble exposures have been superimposed onto ground-based images, visible at the edge of the image, taken at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope in Hawaii, and at the 0.9-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory, part of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory in Arizona. Chandra data: The science team was led by K. Kuntz (Johns Hopkins University).
Instrument Spitzer>IRAC, Spitzer>MIPS, HST>ACS/WFC, HST>WFPC2, and CXO>ACIS
Exposure Dates Mar 8, 2004 and May 10/11, 2004 (Spitzer), March 1994, September 1994, June 1999, November 2002, and January 2003 (HST), and March 2000 - January 2005 (CXO)
Filters Spitzer: 85 sec/pixel (IRAC and; 200 sec/pixel (MIPS 24 micron) HST: F435W (B), F555W (V)), and F814W (I) CXO Energies: 0.45 - 1.00 keV and 1.00 - 2.00 keV
About The Image
Compass Image Compass and Scale Illustration for M101
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
  • Proposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
  • Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.
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.

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