Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have captured sharp images of NGC 4689, a jewel-bright spiral galaxy in the constellation Coma.
This Hubble image shows spiral galaxy NGC 4689 located 52 million light-years away in the constellation of Coma. Image credits: NASA / ESA / Hubble / D. Tilker / J. Lee / PHANGS-HST Team.
NGC 4689 It is located approximately 52 million light-years away in the constellation Kamina.
“Of the 88 constellations officially recognized by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), Coma has the distinction of being the only constellation named after a historical figure. Queen Berenice II of Egypt” explained the Hubble astronomer.
“The Latin word ‘coma’ refers to her hair, meaning that NGC 4689 can be said to be present in the Queen’s hair.”
“Some of Berenice’s contemporaries may have meant this quite literally; her court astronomer believed that Berenice’s lost locks had been destroyed by God (“among the stars”). It was given this name because there is a story that it was thought to have been placed in It is the constellation of Coma. ”
NGC 4689 is discovered It was proposed by German-born British astronomer William Herschel on April 12, 1784.
Also known as LEDA 43186 or UGC 7965, this galaxy is a member of the Virgo Cluster, a group of more than 2,000 galaxies.
NGC 4689 is tilted 36 degrees and can be viewed almost head-on.
The new images of the galaxy were created from separate exposures taken in the ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared spectral regions. Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3).
This is based on data obtained through a gender filter. Color is obtained by assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter.
“This image was created using two sets of observations taken in 2019 and 2024, both as part of a program to observe multiple ‘nearby’ galaxies.” Astronomy said the people.
The 2024 observing program is an interesting example of how Hubble, a relatively old but highly productive telescope, can support the work of the technologically cutting-edge Webb Telescope. ”
“Observations collected by Webb change our understanding of how galaxies change and evolve over time by providing data of unprecedented detail and clarity. It will be.”
“But thanks to their complementary capabilities, new observations from Hubble (such as those used to create new images) can aid the work being done using the Web.”
“In this case, the Hubble data were collected to better understand the stellar populations of nearby galaxies, which is critical to understanding the evolution of galaxies.”
“NGC 4689 therefore plays an important role in advancing our understanding of how all galaxies evolve.”
Source: www.sci.news
