This image demonstrates how data from two of NASA's Great Observatories, the Spitzer and Hubble Space Telescopes, are used to identify one of the most distant galaxies ever seen. This galaxy is unusually massive for its youthful age of 800 million years. (After the Big Bang, the Milky Way by comparison, is approximately 13 billion years old.)
[Left] - The galaxy, named HUDF-JD2, was pinpointed among approximately 10,000 others in a small area of sky called the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (HUDF). This is the deepest image of the universe ever made at optical and near-infrared wavelengths.
[Upper Right] - A blow-up of one small area of the HUDF is used to identify where the distant galaxy is located (inside green circle). This indicates that the galaxy's visible light has been absorbed by traveling billions of light-years through intervening hydrogen.
[Center Right] - The galaxy was detected using Hubble's Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS). But at near-infrared wavelengths it is very faint and red.
[Bottom Right] - The Spitzer Infrared Array Camera (IRAC), easily detects the galaxy at longer infrared wavelengths. Spitzer's IRAC is sensitive to the light from older, redder stars which should make up most of the mass in a galaxy. The brightness of the infrared galaxy suggests that it is quite massive.
Credits
NASA, ESA, B. Mobasher (Space Telescope Science Institute and the European Space Agency)| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | Hubble Ultra Deep Field; HUDF, HUDF-JD2, UDF033238.74-274839.9 |
| Object Description | High-Redshift Galaxy in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field |
| R.A. Position | 03h 32m 39.99s |
| Dec. Position | -27° 48' 0.0" |
| Constellation | Fornax |
| Distance | This galaxy has a redshift of z = 6.5. |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | The HUDF image was created from HST data from proposal : S. Beckwith, S. Malhotra, M. Giavalisco, N. Panagia, J. Rhoads, M. Stiavelli, R. Somerville, S. Casertano, B. Margon, C. Blades, J. Caldwell, and M. Clampin (STScI), M. Corbin (CSC), M. Dickinson, H. Ferguson, and A. Fruchter (STScI), R. Hook (STScI/ECF), S. Jogee, A. Koekemoer, R. Lucas, M. Sosey and L. Bergeron (STScI). The NICMOS HUDF image was created from HST data from proposal: : R. Thompson (U. Arizona), G. Illingworth and R. Bouwens (UCSC), M. Dickinson (STScI), D. Eisenstein and X. Fan (U. Arizona), M. Franx (U. Leiden), M. Rieke (U. of Arizona) , A. Riess (STScI) , P. van Dokkum (Yale U.). The science team for HUDF-JD2 includes: B. Mobasher (STScI/ESA); M. Dickinson (NOAO); H.C. Ferguson and M. Giavalisco (STScI); T. Wiklind (STScI/ESA); D. Stark and R.S. Ellis (Caltech); M. Fall (STScI); N. A. Grogin (JHU); L. Moustakas (STScI); N. Panagia (STScI/ESA); M. Sosey, M. Stiavelli, E. Bergeron, and S. Casertano (STScI); P. Ingram (Gemini Obs.); A. Koekemoer (STScI); I. Labbe (Carnegie Obs.); M. Livio (STScI); B. Rogers (Gemini Obs.); C. Scarlata (Inst. for Astronomy, Zurich, Switzerland); J. Venet, A. Renzini and P. Rosati (ESO); H. Kuntschner, M. Kummel, and J.R. Walsh (STECF/ESO). The Spitzer science team includes: H. Yan (SSC, Caltech), M Dickinson (NOAO), D Stern (JPL), P.R.M. Eisenhardt (JPL), R.-R. Chary (SSC, Caltech), M. Giavalisco (STScI), H.C. Ferguson (STScI), S. Casertano (STScI), C.J. Conselice (Caltech), C. Papovich (Steward), W.T. Reach (SSC, Caltech), N. Grogin (STScI), L.A. Moustakas (JPL), M. Ouchi (STScI). |
| Instrument | HST>ACS/WFC, HST>NICMOS, and SST/IRAC |
| Exposure Dates | September 24, 2003 - January 16, 2004 (ACS), September 3, 2003 - November 27, 2003 (NICMOS), and February 2004 (IRAC) |
| Filters | ACS: F435W (B), F606W (V), F775W (I), F850LP (z) NICMOS: F110W (J110) and F160W (H160) IRAC: 3.6 microns, 4.5 microns, 5.8 microns, and 8.0 microns |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | HUDF Image (left) Blue: F435W (B) Green: F606W (V) + F775W (I) Red: F850LP (z) |
| Compass Image |  |
| 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. |
