NASA has released a surprising image of the unusual edge-on spiral galaxy UGC 10043 taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.
This Hubble image shows UGC 10043, an unusual spiral galaxy located about 150 million light-years away in the constellation Serpens. Image credits: NASA / ESA / Hubble / R. Windhorst / W. Kiel.
UGC 10043 It is located in the constellation Serpens, about 150 million light years from Earth.
Also known as IRAS 15464+2201 or LEDA 56094, this galaxy is one of the somewhat rarer spiral galaxies. Viewed from the side.
“We see galactic disks as sharp lines through space, with pronounced dust lanes along them,” Hubble astronomers said in a statement.
“This dust is spread throughout UGC 10043's spiral arm, but when viewed from the side it appears very thick and cloudy.”
“I can see some lights, too.” Active star forming region In your arms, shining from behind the dust. ”
“Surprisingly, we can also see that the center of the galaxy has a bright, almost egg-shaped bulge that towers far above and below the disk.”
“All spiral galaxies have such a bulge as part of their structure, containing stars that orbit the center of the galaxy in paths above and below the spiral disk.”
“This is a feature that isn't usually obvious in pictures of galaxies.”
“The unusually large size of this bulge compared to the galaxy's disk is likely due to UGC 10043 sucking up material from nearby dwarf galaxies.”
“This may also be why the disc warps, causing one end to bend up and the other end to bend down.”
The color image of UGC 10043 was created from separate exposures taken in the visible and near-infrared regions of the spectrum. Hubble's advanced survey camera (ACS) and Wide field planetary camera 2 (WFPC2).
Two filters were used to sample different wavelengths.
Color is obtained by assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter.
“Like most full-color images published by Hubble, this image is a composite of multiple individual snapshots taken by Hubble at different times and capturing different wavelengths of light,” the astronomers said. Explained.
“What is remarkable about this image is that the two sets of Hubble data used were collected 23 years apart, in 2000 and 2023.”
“Hubble's longer lifespan not only allows us to generate new and better images of old targets.”
“It also provides a long-term archive of data, making it increasingly useful to astronomers.”
Source: www.sci.news
