Cosmic ballet or devil's mask - galaxy triplet NGC 6769-71 (VLT MELIPAL + VIMOS)

Colour-composite image showing the triplet of galaxies NGC 6769, 6770 and NGC 6771, as observed with the VIMOS instrument on Melipal, one of the four 8.2-m Unit Telescopes of ESO's Very Large Telescope. The images were obtained on the morning of April 1, 2004 during twilight in three different wavebands, each of which is here being represented by a different colour: U (around 380 nm; associated to the Blue channel) ; B (425 nm ; Green channel) and V (550 nm ; Red channel). The total exposure time in the U, B and V bands is, respectively, 20, 6 and 12 minutes. The mean seeing was around 0.9 arcsec. The field shown measures 6.1 x 6.8 square arcmin. North is up and East is left.

Credit:

ESO

About the Image

Id:eso0413a
Type:Observation
Release date:28 April 2004
Related releases:eso0413
Size:1706 x 1881 px

About the Object

Name:NGC 6769, NGC 6770, NGC 6771
Type:Local Universe : Galaxy : Grouping : Multiple
Distance:200 million light years
Constellation:Pavo
Category:Galaxies

Image Formats

Large JPEG
1.2 MB
Screensize JPEG
188.5 KB

Wallpapers

1024x768
208.5 KB
1280x1024
394.3 KB
1600x1200
689.6 KB
1920x1200
857.9 KB
2048x1536
1.1 MB

Coordinates

Position (RA):19 18 22.70
Position (Dec):-60° 30' 3.54"
Field of view:5.86 x 6.47 arcminutes
Orientation:North is 0.3° right of vertical

Colours & filters

BandWavelengthTelescope
Ultraviolet
U
380 nmVery Large Telescope
VIMOS
Optical
B
425 nmVery Large Telescope
VIMOS
Optical
V
550 nmVery Large Telescope
VIMOS