Hubble’s neighbourhood watch

Esahubble_potw2311a_1024

esahubble_potw2311a March 13th, 2023

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. Tully

UGCA 307 hangs against an irregular backdrop of distant galaxies in this image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. The small galaxy consists of a diffuse band of stars containing red bubbles of gas that mark regions of recent star formation, and lies roughly 26 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Corvus. Appearing as just a small patch of stars, UGCA 307 is a diminutive dwarf galaxy without a defined structure — resembling nothing more than a hazy patch of passing cloud.  This image is part of a Hubble project to explore every known nearby galaxy, giving astronomers insights into our galactic neighbourhood. Before this set of observations, almost three quarters of nearby galaxies had been investigated by Hubble in enough detail to spot the brightest stars and build up an understanding of the stars populating each galaxy. This Hubble project set out to explore the remaining quarter of nearby galaxies by taking advantage of short gaps in Hubble’s observing schedule. This crystal-clear image was captured by Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), which was installed on the telescope in 2002 during Servicing Mission 3B. Hubble’s vantage point in low Earth orbit means that it is above atmospheric turbulence, giving it a sharper view of the Universe. However, it is also close enough to Earth that astronauts could visit the telescope to repair and refurbish the telescope. In total, five Space Shuttle missions flew to Hubble and kept it at the forefront of astronomy by installing new instruments. The ACS replaced one of Hubble’s original instruments, the Faint Object Camera, which was built by ESA. [Image description: A wide band of bluish light extends from the centre of the image to the right side. It is speckled with many tiny stars, and a few small, bright red bubbles of gas, identifying it as a galaxy. The background is black, and has small galaxies and stars spread around. Most are too small to distinguish, except for two oval-shaped galaxies, each having a hazy glow around a bright centre.] Links Pan: Hubble’s neighbourhood watch

Provider: Hubble Space Telescope | ESA

Image Source: https://esahubble.org/images/potw2311a/

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

Image Use Policy: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
UGCA 307
Esahubble_potw2311a_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 12h 53m 59.6s
DEC = -12° 6’ 22.0”
Orientation
North is 21.7° CW
Field of View
2.7 x 2.5 arcminutes
Constellation
Corvus

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Red Hubble (ACS) Optical (I) 814.0 nm
Green Hubble (ACS) Optical (I) 814.0 nm
Green Hubble (ACS) Optical (V) 606.0 nm
Blue Hubble (ACS) Optical (V) 606.0 nm
Red Hubble (ACS) Optical (V) 606.0 nm
Spectrum_base
Red
Green
Green
Blue
Red
Esahubble_potw2311a_1280
×
ID
potw2311a
Subject Category
Subject Name
UGCA 307
Credits
ESA/Hubble & NASA, R. Tully
Release Date
2023-03-13T06:00:00
Lightyears
Redshift
Reference Url
https://esahubble.org/images/potw2311a/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Distance Notes
Facility
Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope
Instrument
ACS, ACS, ACS, ACS, ACS
Color Assignment
Red, Green, Green, Blue, Red
Band
Optical, Optical, Optical, Optical, Optical
Bandpass
I, I, V, V, V
Central Wavelength
814, 814, 606, 606, 606
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
None, None, None, None, None
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
193.4984579048362, -12.106120671445
Reference Dimension
3209.0, 3024.0
Reference Pixel
1604.5, 1512.0
Scale
-1.3892557506319666e-05, 1.3892557506319666e-05
Rotation
-21.699999999999935
Coordinate System Projection:
TAN
Quality
Full
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
ESA/Hubble
URL
https://esahubble.org
Name
Email
Telephone
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
potw2311a
Metadata Date
2023-02-26T16:39:15+01:00
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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