File:NGC 2683 HST.jpg
Original file (7,564 × 3,919 pixels, file size: 15.76 MB, MIME type: image/jpeg)
This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons. The description on its description page there is shown below.
|
Summary
DescriptionNGC 2683 HST.jpg |
English: The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has spotted a UFO — well, the UFO Galaxy, to be precise. NGC 2683 is a spiral galaxy seen almost edge-on, giving it the shape of a classic science fiction spaceship. This is why the astronomers at the Astronaut Memorial Planetarium and Observatory gave it this attention-grabbing nickname.
While a bird’s eye view lets us see the detailed structure of a galaxy (such as this Hubble image of a barred spiral), a side-on view has its own perks. In particular, it gives astronomers a great opportunity to see the delicate dusty lanes of the spiral arms silhouetted against the golden haze of the galaxy’s core. In addition, brilliant clusters of young blue stars shine scattered throughout the disc, mapping the galaxy’s star-forming regions. Perhaps surprisingly, side-on views of galaxies like this one do not prevent astronomers from deducing their structures. Studies of the properties of the light coming from NGC 2683 suggest that this is a barred spiral galaxy, even though the angle we see it at does not let us see this directly. NGC 2683, discovered on 5 February 1788 by the famous astronomer William Herschel, lies in the Northern constellation of Lynx. A constellation named not because of its resemblance to the feline animal, but because it is fairly faint, requiring the “sensitive eyes of a cat” to discern it. And when you manage to get a look at it, you’ll find treasures like this, making it well worth the effort. This image is produced from two adjacent fields observed in visible and infrared light by Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys. A narrow strip which appears slightly blurred and crosses most the image horizontally is a result of a gap between Hubble’s detectors. This strip has been patched using images from observations of the galaxy made by ground-based telescopes, which show significantly less detail. The field of view is approximately 6.5 by 3.3 arcminutes. |
Date | |
Source | http://www.spacetelescope.org/images/potw1213a/ |
Author | ESA/Hubble & NASA |
Licensing
- You are free:
- to share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work
- to remix – to adapt the work
- Under the following conditions:
- attribution – You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
Items portrayed in this file
depicts
some value
26 March 2012
File history
Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time.
Date/Time | Dimensions | User | Comment | |
---|---|---|---|---|
current | 05:29, 31 March 2018 | 7,564 × 3,919 (15.76 MB) | Fabian RRRR | Higher resolution |
File usage
The following page uses this file:
Metadata
This file contains additional information, probably added from the digital camera or scanner used to create or digitize it.
If the file has been modified from its original state, some details may not fully reflect the modified file.
Image title |
|
---|---|
Date and time of data generation | 10:00, 26 March 2012 |
Copyright status | Copyright status not set |
Credit/Provider | ESA/Hubble & NASA |
Source | ESA/Hubble |
Usage terms |
|
Short title |
|
Keywords | NGC 2683 |
Contact information |
http://www.spacetelescope.org/ Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2 Garching bei München, , D-85748 Germany |
IIM version | 4 |