Edge-on Spiral Galaxy ESO 243-49

 Edge-on Spiral Galaxy ESO 243-49

ESO 243-49 is believed to be home to an intermediate-mass black hole, HLX-1. The edge-on spiral galaxy is 290 million light-years from Earth.

Credits

NASA, ESA, and S. Farrell (Sydney Institute for Astronomy, University of Sydney)

About The Object
Object Name ESO 243-49 HLX-1
Object Description Edge-on Spiral Galaxy with Black Hole
R.A. Position 01h 10m 27.73s
Dec. Position -46° 4' 27.3"
Constellation Phoenix
Distance 290 million light-years (100 million parsecs)
About The Data
Data Description The image was created from Hubble data from proposal : S. Farrell (Sydney Institute for Astronomy, University of Sydney), C. Knigge and T. Maccarone (University of Southampton), A. Gosling (University of Oxford), M. Servillat (Harvard University), K. Wiersema (University of Leicester), and N. Webb, D. Barret, and O. Godet (Centre d' Etude Spatiale des Rayonnements, Toulouse, France)
Instrument HST>WFC3/UVIS and HST>WFC3/IR
Exposure Dates September 23-24, 2010, Exposure Time: 50 minutes
Filters WFC3/UVIS: F390W (C), F555W (V), and F774W (i) WFC3/IR: F160W (H)
About The Image
Color Info This image is a composite of separate exposures acquired by the WFC3 instrument on HST. Several filters were used to sample broad wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are: Blue: F390W (C) Aquamarine: F555W (V) Yellow/green: F774W (i) Red: F160W (H)
Compass Image Edge-on Spiral Galaxy ESO 243-49
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
  • Proposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
  • Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.
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.