This is an infrared image of the galaxy pair NGC 4302 and NGC 4298 taken with Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3. The infrared light pierces through the dust lanes and shows significantly more stars than seen in visible light. In the infrared, the edge-on NGC 4302 is brighter than in the visible view. The tilted galaxy NGC 4298's spiral arms aren't as obvious in infrared, because the infrared light glows through the dust that marks the arms in visible light. This image represents the sort of view the James Webb Space Telescope will have when it is launched in late 2018. Webb's infrared vision will slice through dust to see the stars embedded in it.
Credits
NASA, ESA, and M. Mutchler (STScI)| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | NGC 4298, NGC 4302 |
| Object Description | Interacting Galaxies, Spiral Galaxies |
| R.A. Position | 12h 21m 42.08s |
| Dec. Position | 14° 37' 13.16" |
| Constellation | Coma Berenices |
| Distance | 55 million light-years (17 megaparsecs) |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | These datasets are from the HST proposal , M. Mutchler, J. Green, Z. Levay, D. Smith, and R. Villard (STScI), and image processing by I. Momcheva and J. DePasquale (STScI). |
| Instrument | HST>WFC3/IR |
| Exposure Dates | January 2017; Exposure time: 4,236 sec |
| Filters | F140W and F160W |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | This image is a composite of separate exposures made by the WFC3 instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope using two different cameras and filters isolating the broad wavelength ranges. The color arises by assigning different hues (colors), to each monochromatic image. In this case, the colors are: Cyan: F125W Orange: F160W |
| 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. |
