Tiny galaxy HIPASS J1131–31 peeks out from behind the glare of star TYC 7215-199-1, a Milky Way star positioned between Hubble and the galaxy. One hundred years ago, this fast-moving foreground star would have appeared directly in the line of sight, and the "Peekaboo" galaxy would not have been detectable at all.
With Hubble's resolution and sensitivity, astronomers resolved 60 stars in the galaxy and were struck by the fact that they all appear to be relatively young—a few billion years old or younger. This is very unusual in the nearby universe, which has had about 13 billion years of cosmic history to develop. Peekaboo's stars indicate that it is one of the youngest and least-chemically-enriched galaxies ever detected in the local universe. The small galaxy presents astronomers with a unique opportunity for future in-depth analysis of a chemical environment typically only found in the very distant, early universe, where detailed study of individual stars' chemical makeup is not possible. Peekaboo is, in effect, a direct portal into the past, allowing us to discover what the universe was like near the dawn of time.
Credits
Science
NASA, ESA, Igor Karachentsev (SAO RAS)
Image Processing
Alyssa Pagan (STScI)
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | HIPASS J1131–31 |
| Object Description | Dwarf galaxy |
| R.A. Position | 11:31:35.2 |
| Dec. Position | -31:40:20 |
| Constellation | Hydra |
| Distance | About 22 million light-years (~6.8 Mpcs) |
| Dimensions | Image is approximately 3 arcminutes across (20,000 lys) |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | This image was created from Hubble data from proposal: (R. B. Tully) |
| Instrument | ACS/WFC |
| Exposure Dates | 14 July 2020 |
| Filters | F606W, F814W |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | These images are a composite of separate exposures acquired by the Hubble Space Telescope using the ACS/WFC instrument. Several filters were used to sample different 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: Cyan: F606W, Orange: F814W |
| 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. |
