The Hubble team has unveiled stunning images captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, showcasing half of the Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 6000.
This Hubble image reveals NGC 6000, a barred spiral galaxy located around 102 million light years away in the constellation Scorpius. Image credits: NASA/ESA/Hubble/A. Filippenko/MHözsaraç.
NGC 6000 is approximately 102 million light years distant from the constellation Scorpio.
Also known as ESO 450-20, IRAS 15467-2914, or LEDA 56145, this spiral galaxy spans nearly 67,000 light years.
It was first observed by British astronomer John Herschel on May 8, 1834.
Classified as a Seyfert II Galaxy, NGC 6000 is the brightest galaxy in the constellation of Scorpio.
“The NGC 6000 showcases a luminous yellow center surrounded by a sparkling blue region,” stated Hubble astronomers.
“These colors signify variations in the average age, mass, and temperature of the stars within the galaxy.”
“In the galaxy’s core, the stars tend to be older and smaller.”
“Interestingly, fewer giant stars are cooler compared to their larger counterparts; cooler stars appear red, while hotter stars take on a blue hue.”
“Along the spiral arm of NGC 6000, the Brilliant Star cluster is home to a young, massive star that distinctly looks blue.”
Hubble’s instruments gathered data from new images of NGC 6000 while investigating the site of a recent supernova explosion in a nearby galaxy.
“NGC 6000 has witnessed two supernovas: SN 2007CH in 2007 and SN 2010 in 2010,” noted the astronomer.
“We were able to detect the faint glow of the supernova several years post the initial explosion.”
“These observations assist in determining the star mass of supernova progenitor cells and whether they possess stellar companions.”
“If you zoom in on the right side of the galaxy disc in this image, you may notice other yellow and blue formations, which are four thin lines.”
“These represent asteroids from our solar system transit across Hubble’s field of vision while observing NGC 6000.”
“The four streaks arise from varying exposures captured sequentially with brief pauses in between, which we merged to create this final image.”
“The colors appear in this manner: each exposure captures specific red and blue wavelengths, as we used filters to isolate light at very particular wavelengths.”
“Collecting these individual exposures is vital for studying and comparing star colors, though it makes inter-agency intrusions quite apparent.”
Source: www.sci.news
