Tiny, Hidden Galaxy Provides A Peek Into The Past

Esahubble_opo22051a_1024

esahubble_opo22051a December 6th, 2022

Credit: NASA, ESA, G. Anand (STScI), A. Pagan (STScI)

Tiny galaxy HIPASS J1131–31 peeks out from behind the glare of star TYC 7215-199-1, a Milky Way star positioned between Hubble and the galaxy. One hundred years ago, this fast-moving foreground star would have appeared directly in the line of sight, and the "Peekaboo" galaxy would not have been detectable at all. With the resolution and sensitivity of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers resolved 60 stars in the galaxy and were struck by the fact that they all appear to be relatively young—a few billion years old or younger. This is very unusual in the nearby universe, which has had about 13 billion years of cosmic history to develop. Peekaboo's stars indicate that it is one of the youngest and least-chemically-enriched galaxies ever detected in the local universe. The small galaxy presents astronomers with a unique opportunity for future in-depth analysis of a chemical environment typically only found in the very distant, early universe, where detailed study of individual stars' chemical makeup is not possible. Peekaboo is, in effect, a direct portal into the past, allowing us to discover what the universe was like near the dawn of time. [Image Description: A large bright star is centered, with four long rays extending in an X shape. Between the rays on the right is a small blue peanut-shaped galaxy with some bright spots. Smaller similar stars and orange background galaxies fill image.]

Provider: Hubble Space Telescope | ESA

Image Source: https://esahubble.org/images/opo22051a/

Curator: ESA/Hubble, Baltimore, MD, United States

Image Use Policy: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
HIPASS J1131–31
Subject - Local Universe
Galaxy > Size > Giant
Esahubble_opo22051a_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 11h 31m 34.4s
DEC = -31° 40’ 14.9”
Orientation
North is 98.4° CCW
Field of View
3.0 x 1.8 arcminutes
Constellation
Hydra

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Cyan None (None) Optical (None) 606.0 nm
Orange None (None) Optical (None) 814.0 nm
Cyan Hubble (ACS) Optical (V) 606.0 nm
Orange Hubble (ACS) Optical (I) 814.0 nm
Cyan None (None) Optical (None) 606.0 nm
Orange None (None) Optical (None) 814.0 nm
Spectrum_base
Cyan
Orange
Cyan
Orange
Cyan
Orange
Esahubble_opo22051a_1280
×
ID
opo22051a
Subject Category
C.5.2.1  
Subject Name
HIPASS J1131–31
Credits
NASA, ESA, G. Anand (STScI), A. Pagan (STScI)
Release Date
2022-12-06T16:00:00
Lightyears
Redshift
Reference Url
https://esahubble.org/images/opo22051a/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
~6.8 Mpcs
Facility
None, None, Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, None, None
Instrument
None, None, ACS, ACS, None, None
Color Assignment
Cyan, Orange, Cyan, Orange, Cyan, Orange
Band
Optical, Optical, Optical, Optical, Optical, Optical
Bandpass
None, None, V, I, None, None
Central Wavelength
606, 814, 606, 814, 606, 814
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
None, None, None, None, None, None
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
172.8931826402952, -31.670816585314046
Reference Dimension
3590.0, 2191.0
Reference Pixel
1795.0, 1095.5
Scale
-1.3892809010210484e-05, 1.3892809010210484e-05
Rotation
98.4399999999999
Coordinate System Projection:
TAN
Quality
Full
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
ESA/Hubble
URL
https://esahubble.org
Name
Space Telescope Science Institute Office of Public Outreach
Email
outreach@stsci.edu
Telephone
410-338-4444
Address
ESA Office, Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Dr
City
Baltimore
State/Province
MD
Postal Code
21218
Country
United States
Rights
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Publisher
ESA/Hubble
Publisher ID
esahubble
Resource ID
opo22051a
Metadata Date
2022-12-08T02:44:16.136715
Metadata Version
1.1
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

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There is no distance meta data in this image.

 

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