An unlikely spiral

Esahubble_potw2411a_1024

esahubble_potw2411a March 11th, 2024

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, M. Sun

This image shows LEDA 42160, a galaxy about 52 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Virgo. The dwarf galaxy is one of many forcing its way through the comparatively dense gas in the Virgo cluster, a massive cluster of galaxies. The pressure exerted by this intergalactic gas, known as ram pressure, has dramatic effects on star formation in LEDA 42160, which are presently being studied using the Hubble Space Telescope. LEDA 42160 falls into the category of ‘Magellanic spiral galaxy’, or type Sm for short, under the de Vaucouleurs galaxy classification system. Magellanic spiral galaxies can be further sub-categorised as barred (SBm), unbarred (SAm) and weakly barred (SABm), where a ‘bar’ is an elongated bar-shape at a galaxy’s core. Generally speaking, Magellanic spiral galaxies are dwarf galaxies with only one single spiral arm. They are named after their prototype, the Large Magellanic Cloud, which is an SBm galaxy. Magellanic spiral galaxies are an interesting example of how galaxy categorisation is actually more nuanced than simply ‘spiral’, ‘elliptical’ or ‘irregular’.  [Image Description: A distorted dwarf galaxy, obscured by dust and by bright outbursts caused by star formation, floats roughly in the centre. A few distant galaxies are visible in the background around it, many as little spirals, and also including a prominent elliptical galaxy. A bright star hangs above the galaxy in the foreground, marked by cross-shaped diffraction spikes.] Links Pan of LEDA 42160

Provider: Hubble Space Telescope | ESA

Image Source: https://esahubble.org/images/potw2411a/

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

Image Use Policy: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Image Details Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
LEDA 42160
Esahubble_potw2411a_128
 

Position Details Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 12h 37m 40.1s
DEC = 8° 33’ 27.3”
Orientation
North is 16.8° CW
Field of View
3.2 x 2.6 arcminutes
Constellation
Virgo

Color Mapping Details Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Blue Hubble (ACS) Optical (g) 475.0 nm
Green Hubble (ACS) Optical (g) 475.0 nm
Green Hubble (ACS) Optical (I) 814.0 nm
Red Hubble (ACS) Optical (I) 814.0 nm
Spectrum_base
Blue
Green
Green
Red
Esahubble_potw2411a_1280
×
ID
potw2411a
Subject Category
Subject Name
LEDA 42160
Credits
ESA/Hubble & NASA, M. Sun
Release Date
2024-03-11T06:00:00
Lightyears
Redshift
Reference Url
https://esahubble.org/images/potw2411a/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Distance Notes
Facility
Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope
Instrument
ACS, ACS, ACS, ACS
Color Assignment
Blue, Green, Green, Red
Band
Optical, Optical, Optical, Optical
Bandpass
g, g, I, I
Central Wavelength
475, 475, 814, 814
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
None, None, None, None
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
189.41704933454574, 8.557574229661698
Reference Dimension
3879.0, 3131.0
Reference Pixel
1939.5, 1565.5
Scale
-1.388555700602114e-05, 1.388555700602114e-05
Rotation
-16.800000000000011
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
potw2411a
Metadata Date
2024-02-22T14:37:28+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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