This illustration compares the Milky Way with a compact galaxy in the early universe.
Looking almost 11 billion years into the past, astronomers have measured the motions of stars for the first time in a very distant galaxy. They are whirling at a speed of one million miles per hour – about twice the speed of our Sun through the Milky Way. The galaxies are a fraction the size of our Milky Way, and so may have evolved over billions of years into the full-grown galaxies seen around us today.
Credits
NASA, ESA, and A. Feild (STScI)| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | 1255-0 (1256-151, 1256-0) |
| Object Description | Distant Galaxy |
| R.A. Position | 12h 54m 59.58s |
| Dec. Position | 01° 11' 29.7" |
| Constellation | Virgo |
| Distance | 11 billion light-years or 3.4 billion parsecs; Redshift z = 2.2 |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | Hubble Data Science results are from Hubble data from proposal : P. van Dokkum and S. Toft (Yale University), M. Kriek (Princeton University), M. Franx (University of Leiden, Netherlands), R. Quadri (Yale University), G. Illingworth (University of California, Santa Cruz), D. Marchesini (Yale University), and G. Rudnick (University of Kansas). Gemini Data The Gemini observations science team comprises: M. Kriek (Princeton University), P. van Dokkum (Yale University), I. Labbé (Carnegie Observatories), M. Franx (University of Leiden, Netherlands), G. Illingworth (University of California, Santa Cruz), D. Marchesini (Yale University), and R. Quadri (University of Leiden, Netherlands). |
| Instrument | HST>NICMOS and Gemini>GNIRS |
| Exposure Dates | March 16, 200,7 Exposure Time: 2.1 hours (HST), and May 2005, February 2006, and March 2007, Exposure Time: 29 hours (Gemini) |
| Filters | HST: F160W(H) Gemini Wavelengths: 3000-7500 angstroms |
| 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. |
