Wide-field view of the Meathook galaxy

This picture of the Meathook Galaxy (NGC 2442) was taken by the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at La Silla, Chile. It shows a much broader view than the Hubble image, although less detailed. This view includes the whole galaxy and the surrounding sky, and clearly shows the asymmetric spiral arms. The longer of the two arms has intense star formation, which is visible here as a pink glow: this is due to the radiation of young stars ionising the gas they form from. The asymmetric shape and star formation are both thought to be caused by tidal disruptions from a near-miss with another galaxy at some point in its history.

Bildnachweis:

ESO

Über das Bild

ID:eso1115a
Typ:Beobachtung
Veröffentlichungsdatum:4. Mai 2011 12:00
Dazugehörige Veröffentlichungen:eso1115
Größe:6756 x 5687 px

Über das Objekt

Name:NGC 2442
Typ:Local Universe : Galaxy
Entfernung:55 Million Lichtjahre
Constellation:Volans
Kategorie:Galaxies

Bildformate

Großes JPEG
10,6 MB

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Koordinaten

Position (RA):7 36 8.18
Position (Dec):-69° 32' 32.06"
Field of view:26.81 x 22.55 arcminutes
Orientierung:Die Nordrichtung liegt 181.6° links zur Vertikale