NGC 5172 is a spiral galaxy containing more than a 100 billion stars, along with vast clouds of gas and dust. Within a thin disk, the spiral arms exhibit a pinwheel structure. Along the spiral arms, dark dust clouds collapse to create star-forming regions, leading to bright clusters of new stars. Spiral galaxies can be both colorful and majestic.
Credits
Credit: Digitized Sky Survey (DSS), STScI/AURA, and Palomar/Caltech, and UKSTU/AAO| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | NGC 5172 |
| R.A. Position | 13h 29m 19.0s |
| Dec. Position | 17° 3' 7.0" |
| 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 |
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| 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. |
