NASA has released an incredibly beautiful image taken by the Hubble Space Telescope for the Barred Spiral Galaxy Messier 77.
This Hubble image shows the Messier 77, a Barred Spiral Galaxy, about 62 million light years away in the Cetus constellation. Color images were created from individual exposures taken with UV rays. The visible and near-infrared regions of the spectrum feature Hubble’s advanced camera (ACS) and widefield camera 3 (WFC3) equipment. Based on data obtained through six filters. Colors are attributed to assigning different hue to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter. Image credits: NASA/ESA/Hubble/LC Ho/D. Thilker.
Messier 77 is located 62 million light years from Earth in the constellation of Cetus.
Also known as the Squid Galaxy, NGC 1068, Leda 10266, and Cetus A. This galaxy is 9.6 in size.
It was discovered in 1780 by French astronomer Pierre Messhin and originally identified it as a nebula.
Mechine then conveyed the discoveries to her colleague, the French astronomer Charles Messier.
Messier believed that the very bright objects he saw were a herd of stars, but it was realized that technology had truly achieved its position as a galaxy.
“The Messier 77 designation comes from the location of the Galaxy, a well-known catalogue edited by French astronomer Charles Messier,” the Hubble astronomer said in a statement.
“Pierre Messhin, another French astronomer, discovered the galaxy in 1780.”
“Messier and Messhin were both comet hunters cataloguing ambiguous objects that could be mistaken for comets.”
“Messier, Méchain and other astronomers of that era mistaken the Squid Galaxy for either a spiral nebula or a star cluster.”
“This false characteristic is not surprising. For over a century, we pass between discovering squid galaxies and the realization that the “spiral nebulae” scattered across the sky are not part of our galaxies, but are actually millions of light years away. ”
“The appearance from the small telescope of the squid galaxy (a very bright center surrounded by ambiguous clouds) closely resembles one or more stars in a wreath to the nebula.”
At 100,000 light years, Messier 77 is one of the largest galaxies in the Messier catalog.
This galaxy is also one of the closest galaxies with an active galactic nucleus (AGN).
Such active galaxies are one of the brightest objects in the universe, ejecting at best, if not all, wavelengths, from gamma rays and x-rays to microwaves and radiation waves.
However, despite its status as a popular target for astronomers, the Galaxy’s accretion disk is obscure by thick clouds of dust and gas.
“The name ‘Squid Galaxy’ has only happened recently,” the astronomer said.
“The name comes from an extended filament structure that curls around the galaxy’s discs like squid tentacles.”
“The squid galaxy is a great example of how advances in technology and scientific understanding can completely change the perception of astronomical objects.
Source: www.sci.news
