Credits
Illustration: NASA, ESA, and Z. Levay (STScI);Science: NASA, ESA, M. Regan and B. Whitmore (STScI), and R. Chandar (University of Toledo)
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | M51, Whirlpool Galaxy |
| Object Description | Face-on Spiral Galaxy |
| R.A. Position | 13h 29m 55.73s |
| Dec. Position | 47° 13' 53.43" |
| Constellation | Canes Venatici |
| Distance | About 31 million light-years (9.6 million parsecs) |
| Dimensions | This image is 3 arcminutes (20,000 light-years or 6,000 parsecs) wide. |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | The Hubble optical image was created from HST data from proposal : S. Beckwith (STScI), R. Kennicutt, Jr. (University of Cambridge), and H. Bond, C. Christian, L. Frattare, F. Hamilton, Z. Levay, M. Mutchler, K. Noll, and T. Royle (Hubble Heritage Team, STScI/AURA). NICMOS observations were made with the HST proposal 10501: R. Chandar (University of Toledo), D. Calzetti (University of Massachusetts), R. Kennicutt, Jr. (University of Cambridge), M. Regan and B. Whitmore (STScI), and E. Schinnerer (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg). |
| Instrument | HST>NICMOS and HST>ACS/WFC |
| Exposure Dates | November 28 - December 2, 2005, Exposure Time: 9 hours |
| Filters | F160W (J) |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | This image, which was obtained by aligning data from both the NICMOS and ACS detectors and dividing the NICMOS brightness values by the ACS values, was originally black and white. These brightness values were translated into a range of reddish hues. Such color "maps" can be useful in helping to distinguish subtly varying brightness in an image. |
| 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. |
