M87

M87

Caption

A Hubble Space Telescope image of the giant galaxy M87 shows a 3,000-light-year-long jet of plasma blasting from the galaxy's 6.5-billion-solar-mass central black hole. The blowtorch-like jet seems to cause stars to erupt along its trajectory. These novae are not caught inside the jet, but are apparently in a dangerous neighborhood nearby. During a recent 9-month survey, astronomers using Hubble found twice as many of these novae going off near the jet as elsewhere in the galaxy. The galaxy is the home of several trillion stars and thousands of star-like globular star clusters.

Credits

Science

NASA, ESA, STScI, Alec Lessing (Stanford University), Mike Shara (AMNH)

Acknowledgment

Edward Baltz (Stanford University)

Image Processing

Joseph DePasquale (STScI)

Keywords

About The Object
Object Name M87
Object Description Elliptical galaxy with jet
R.A. Position 12:30:49
Dec. Position +12:23:28
Constellation Virgo
Distance 53 million light-years
Dimensions Image is 1.5 arcmin across (about 24,000 light-years)
About The Data
Data Description The HST observations include those from program (E. Baltz) and program (M. Shara). Image Processing: Joseph DePasquale (STScI)
Instrument WFC3
Exposure Dates December 2005 - March 2006 and November 2016 to July 2017
Filters F275W, F606W
About The Image
Color Info These images are a composite of separate exposures acquired by the WFC3/UVIS instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope. Two filters were used to sample wide 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= F275W, Orange= F606W
Compass and Scale Image A Hubble photo of galaxy M87, which resembles a translucent, fuzzy white cotton ball. The brightness decreases gradually out in all directions from a bright white point of light at the center. A wavy blue-white jet of material extends from the point-like core outward to the upper right, about halfway across the galaxy. Stars speckle the background.
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
Color Info A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.
Compass and Scale Image An astronomical image with a scale that shows how large an object is on the sky, a compass that shows how the object is oriented on the sky, and the filters with which the image was made.

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