NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has imaged one of the most active galaxies in our local neighborhood. NGC 1569, sparkles with the light from millions of newly formed young stars. At the nucleus of the starburst galaxy is a grouping of three giant star clusters, each containing more than a million stars. The clusters reside in a large, central cavity. The gas in the cavity has been blown out by the multitude of massive, young stars that already exploded as supernovae. NGC 1569 is located 11 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Camelopardalis. Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 and Advanced Camera for Surveys made the observations of NGC 1569 in September 1999, November 2006, and January 2007. This image shows the full region that was imaged by both detectors.
Credits
NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA), and A. Aloisi (STScI/ESA)| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | NGC 1569 |
| Object Description | Dwarf Irregular Galaxy |
| R.A. Position | 04h 30m 49.0s |
| Dec. Position | 64° 50' 52.0" |
| Constellation | Camelopardalis |
| Distance | 11 million light-years (3.4 megaparsecs) |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | HST Proposal: P. Shopbell (Caltech), R. Dufour (Rice University), D. Walter (South Carolina State University), and A. Wilson (University of Maryland) HST Proposal: A. Aloisi (STScI/ESA) et al. The science team includes: A. Aloisi (STScI/ESA), L. Angeretti (Astronomical Observatory of Bologna/INAF), F. Annibali and L. Greggio (Astronomical Observatory of Padua/INAF), A. Grocholski (STScI), E. Held (Astronomical Observatory of Padua/INAF), J. Mack (STScI), D. Romano (Astronomical Observatory of Bologna/INAF), M. Sirianni (STScI/ESA), M. Tosi (Astronomical Observatory of Bologna/INAF), and R. van der Marel (STScI). |
| Instrument | HST>ACS/WFC and HST>WFPC2 |
| Exposure Dates | September 1999, November 2006, and January 2007 |
| Filters | ACS: F658N (H-alpha + [N II]) and F606W (wide V) WFPC2: F502N ([O III]), F487 (H-beta) |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | The image is a composite of separate exposures made by the ACS and WFPC2 instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope. Three filters were used to sample narrow-wavelength ranges. One filter was used to sample broad wavelengths. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic image. In this case, the assigned colors are: Red: F658N (H-alpha + [N II]) Green/cyan: F606W (wide V) Cyan: F502N ([O III]) Blue: F487 (H-beta) |
| 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. |
