The superwind galaxy NGC 4666

This visible light image, made with the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile, shows the galaxy NGC 4666 in the centre. It is a starburst galaxy, about 80 million light-years from Earth, in which particularly intense star formation is taking place. The starburst is thought to be caused by gravitational interactions with neighbouring galaxies, including NGC 4668, visible to the lower left. A combination of supernova explosions and strong winds from massive stars in the starburst region drives a vast outflow of gas from the galaxy into space — a so-called “superwind”. NGC 4666 had previously been observed in X-rays by the ESA XMM-Newton space telescope, and these visible light observations were made to target background objects detected in the earlier X-ray images.

This picture, which covers a field of 16 by 12 arcminutes, is a combination of twelve CCD frames, 67 megapixels each, taken through blue, green and red filters.

Bildnachweis:

ESO/J. Dietrich

Über das Bild

ID:eso1036a
Typ:Beobachtung
Veröffentlichungsdatum:1. September 2010 12:00
Dazugehörige Veröffentlichungen:eso1036
Größe:3946 x 3168 px

Über das Objekt

Name:NGC 4666
Typ:Local Universe : Galaxy : Activity : Starburst
Entfernung:80 Million Lichtjahre
Constellation:Virgo
Kategorie:Galaxies

Bildformate

Großes JPEG
4,7 MB

Skalierbar


Bildschirm-Hintergrundbilder

1024x768
159,3 KB
1280x1024
263,0 KB
1600x1200
404,9 KB
1920x1200
534,1 KB
2048x1536
757,1 KB

Koordinaten

Position (RA):12 45 8.68
Position (Dec):0° 27' 43.36"
Field of view:15.64 x 12.55 arcminutes
Orientierung:Die Nordrichtung liegt 0.0° rechts zur Vertikale

Farben & Filter

SpektralbereichWellenlängeTeleskop
Optisch
B
451 nmMPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope
WFI
Optisch
V
539 nmMPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope
WFI
Optisch
R
651 nmMPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope
WFI