The image at left shows the nearby, majestic Andromeda galaxy. The rectangular box marks the region probed by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope.
Hubble's view, taken with the Wide Field Camera 3 and the Advanced Camera for Surveys, is shown in the images on the right. The images are a blend of visible and ultraviolet light. The photo at top right is 7,900 light-years across and reveals the galaxy's crowded central region. The bright area near the center of the image is a grouping of stars nestled around the galaxy's black hole. The blue dots sprinkled throughout the image are ultra-blue stars whose population increases around the crowded hub. The blue stars are old Sun-like stars that have prematurely cast off their outer layers of material, exposing their extremely blue-hot cores. The square box outlines a close-up view of an area around the core.
The detailed image, shown at bottom right, reveals a richer population of blue stars huddled around the core. Dark dust clouds also are visible. The image is 740 light-years wide.
The right-hand images, taken with Hubble, are part of a census of stars in M31 called the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury survey.
The image of the Andromeda galaxy was taken on June 13, 2001, with the WIYN/KPNO 0.9-meter Mosaic I by T. Rector and B. Wolpa of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory in Tucson, Ariz.
Hubble images: NASA, ESA, B.F. Williams (University of Washington, Seattle), D. Lang (Princeton University, N.J.), J. Kalirai (Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore), and J. Dalcanton (University of Washington, Seattle)
WIYN/KPNO Image: T. Rector and B. Wolpa (NOAO/AURA/NSF)
Credits
Image
NASA, ESA, Benjamin F. Williams (UWashington), D. Lang (Princeton University), Jason S. Kalirai (STScI), Julianne Dalcanton (UWashington), Travis A. Rector (NOAO, AURA, NSF), B. A. Wolpa (NOAO, AURA, NSF)
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | M31, NGC 224, Andromeda Galaxy, and PHAT Treasury Survey Region of M31 (inset images) |
| Object Description | PHAT Treasury Survey Region of M31 |
| R.A. Position | 00h 42m 44.0s |
| Dec. Position | 41° 16' 8.99" |
| Constellation | Andromeda |
| Distance | About 2.5 million light-years (0.8 megaparsecs) |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | The survey of M31 is an ongoing HST Treasury proposal. These inset images were created from Hubble data from proposal 12058 (PI: J. Dalcanton, University of Washington, Seattle). |
| Instrument | WIYN/KPNO>0.9m (galaxy image), and HST>WFC3/UVIS, HST>WFC3/IR, and HST>ACS/WFC (inset images) |
| Exposure Dates | Data used in these images were taken in 2010 and 2011. |
| Filters | Hubble Image (inset images): WFC3/UVIS: F275W (UV) and F336W (U) ACS/WFC: F475W (g) and F814W (I) WFC3/IR: F160W (H) |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | Wide M31 Image (top inset image) Blue: F336W(U) Cyan: F475W (g) Yellow: F814W(I) Red: F160W (H) (H) Detail M31 Image (bottom inset image) Light purple: F275W (UV) Blue: F336W (U) ACS/WFC: F475W (g) Dark red: F814W (I) |
| 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. |
