Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have produced the epic image of the Spiral Galaxy NGC 4900.
This Hubble image shows the NGC 4900, a spiral galaxy about 45 million light years away in the Virgo constellations. Image credits: NASA/ESA/Hubble/SJ Smartt/C. Kilpatrick.
NGC 4900 It is about 45 million light years away from the Virgo constellations.
Also known as the Leda 44797 or IRAS 12580+0246, this Spiral Galaxy has 66,000 light years.
The NGC 4900 was discovered by German and British astronomer William Herschel on April 30, 1786.
Galaxy is a member of the NGC 4753 group and a member of the Virgo II group.
New images of the NGC 4900 were created from individual exposures taken in the visible and near-infrared regions of both spectra. Hubble Advanced Camera for Survey (ACS) and Widefield Planet Camera 2 (WFPC2).
“The data are more than 20 years apart in two different observational programs. This is a true testament to Hubble's long scientific life,” said the Hubble astronomer.
“Both programs aimed to understand the end of a giant star.”
“For one, researchers were aiming to study the locations of past supernovaes, estimate the masses of the exploded stars, and investigate how the supernova interacts with their surroundings.”
“NGC 4900 was selected for research because it hosted a named supernova SN 1999BR. ”
“In other programs, researchers have laid the foundation for studying future supernovaes by collecting images of more than 150 nearby galaxies.”
“After a supernova is detected in any of these galaxies, researchers can look up these images and search for stars at the supernova location.”
“Identifying supernova progenitor stars in pre-explosion images gives valuable information about how, when, and why supernovae occur.”
Source: www.sci.news
