The antennae galaxies - NGC4038/9

One of the first images from the new VIMOS facility, obtained right after the moment of "first light" on February 26, 2002. It shows the famous "Antennae Galaxies" (NGC 4038/9), the result of a recent collision between two galaxies.

As an immediate outcome of this dramatic event, stars are born within massive complexes that appear blue in this composite photo, based on exposures through green, orange and red optical filters.

Individual exposures of 60 seconds each; image quality 0.6 arcsec FWHM; the field measures 3.5 x 3.5 arcmin2. North is up and East is left.

Crédit:

ESO

À propos de l'image

Identification:eso0209a
Type:Observation
Date de publication:13 mars 2002
Communiqués de presse en rapport:eso0209
Taille:800 x 796 px

À propos de l'objet

Nom:Antennae Galaxies
Type:Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Interacting
Distance:75 million années lumière
Constellation:Corvus
Catégorie:Galaxies

Image Formats

Grand JPEG
113,2 Kio
JPEG taille écran
128,9 Kio

Fonds d'écran

1024x768
165,2 Kio
1280x1024
247,3 Kio
1600x1200
336,3 Kio
1920x1200
413,9 Kio
2048x1536
514,1 Kio

Coordinates

Position (RA):12 1 53.31
Position (Dec):-18° 52' 37.66"
Field of view:3.43 x 3.42 arcminutes
Orientation:North is 0.1° left of vertical

Couleurs & filtres

DomaineTélescope
Visible
B
Very Large Telescope
VIMOS
Visible
V
Very Large Telescope
VIMOS
Infrarouge
I
Very Large Telescope
VIMOS