This is a small portion of an image taken with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Field Planetary camera (WFPC) in WF mode a near-infrared (F785LP) filter, showing the distant radio galaxy 53W002 at lower left. The region shown is a subimage 100 WFC pixels (10.16 arcseconds) on a side. The bright object is a foreground galaxy approximately four times closer. The inset the at upper left shows how a nearby galaxy (M87) believed to be similar to 53W002 would appear at the same distance. The distant galaxy is much brighter, showing the time evolution of the stellar population in these galaxies. It is also almost as compact as M87, suggesting that it has nearly completed its collapse under self-gravity while forming stars. The outer regions of 53W002, faintly visible in this reproduction, have a structure remarkably similar to that of nearby, more dynamically resolved galaxies as well. Together with ground- based spectra and theoretical models, this image suggests that we are seeing a galaxy near the end of its formation phase, and that the galaxies initial collapse coincided with its initial round of star formation. This has long been expected theoretically but has been difficult to show. Less expected is timing; 53W002 started the process much later than many galaxies seen at higher redshift, so that the period of galaxy formation must have been drawn out over several billion years.
Credits
Credit: Rogier Windorst (Arizona State University) William Keel (University of Alabama) and NASA| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | 53W002 |
| R.A. Position | 17h 14m 14.7s |
| Dec. Position | 50° 15' 29.99" |
| 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 |
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| 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. |
