VISTA’s infrared view of the Sculptor Galaxy (NGC 253)
NGC 253 is one of the closest galaxies to our own. It is a bright spiral that lies about 13 million light-years from Earth in the southern constellation of Sculptor and is noted for being a starburst galaxy with very vigorous star formation and very dusty spiral arms. In the infrared, the rich dust clouds in the galaxy’s spiral arms become nearly transparent and a whole host of cool red stars that are otherwise invisible can be seen. The VISTA infrared images were taken through Y, Z, J, Ksand narrowband filters. The field of view is about 38 by 25 arcminutes.
Crédit:ESO/J. Emerson/VISTA. Acknowledgment: Cambridge Astronomical Survey Unit
À propos de l'image
Identification: | eso1025a |
Type: | Observation |
Date de publication: | 16 juin 2010 12:00 |
Communiqués de presse en rapport: | eso1025 |
Taille: | 6761 x 4501 px |
À propos de l'objet
Nom: | NGC 253 |
Type: | Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Spiral |
Distance: | 13 million années lumière |
Constellation: | Sculptor |
Catégorie: | Galaxies |
Formats des images
Fonds d'écran
Coordinates
Position (RA): | 0 47 30.12 |
Position (Dec): | -25° 17' 22.08" |
Field of view: | 38.44 x 25.59 arcminutes |
Orientation: | North is 43.2° left of vertical |
Couleurs & filtres
Domaine | Télescope |
---|---|
Infrarouge Z | Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy VIRCAM |
Infrarouge Y | Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy VIRCAM |
Infrarouge Near-IR | Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy VIRCAM |
Infrarouge J | Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy VIRCAM |
Infrarouge K | Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy VIRCAM |