This graphic shows how NASA's Hubble Space Telescope probed the light from a distant quasar to analyze the so-called Fermi Bubbles, two lobes of material being blown out of the core of our Milky Way galaxy. The quasar's light passed through one of the bubbles. Imprinted on that light is information about the outflow's speed, composition, and eventually mass. The outflow was produced by a violent event that happened about 2 million years ago in our galaxy's core.
Credits
NASA, ESA, and A. Feild (STScI)| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | PDS 456 |
| Object Description | Quasar |
| R.A. Position | 17h 28m 19.80s |
| Dec. Position | -14° 15' 55".87 |
| Constellation | Serpens |
| Distance | 2 billion light-years (600 megaparsecs) |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | Data were obtained from the HST proposal: , P.I. A. Fox (STScI) et al. The science team comprises: A. Fox and R. Bordoloi (STScI), B. Savage (University of Wisconsin, Madison), F. Lockman (NRAO/GBT), E. Jenkins (Princeton University Observatory), B. Wakker (University of Wisconsin, Madison), J. Bland-Hawthorn (Institute of Astronomy/University of Sydney), S. Hernandez (STScI), T.-S. Kim (Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste, Italy), R. Benjamin (University of Wisconsin, Whitewater), D. Bowen (Princeton University Observatory), and J. Tumlinson (STScI). |
| Instrument | HST>COS |
| Exposure Dates | February 10, 2014, Exposure Time: 3.8 hours |
| Filters | Gratings: G130M and G160M |
| 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. |
