A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site.
On July 4, fireworks blaze over the skies of American cities in the annual Independence Day celebrations. But nearly 12.5 million light-years away in the dwarf galaxy NGC 4449 stellar "fireworks" are going off all the time. The image was taken in November 2005 with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys.
General_Information
What is Hubble Heritage?
A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site.
On July 4, fireworks blaze over the skies of American cities in the annual Independence Day celebrations. But nearly 12.5 million light-years away in the dwarf galaxy NGC 4449 stellar "fireworks" are going off all the time. The image was taken in November 2005 with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys.
About the Object Object Name: NGC 4449 Object Description: Magellanic dwarf irregular galaxy Position (J2000): R.A. 12h 28m 10s.96 Dec. 44° 05' 33".4 Constellation: Canes Venatici Distance: Approximately 13 million light-years (4 Mpc) away. Dimensions: This image is 5 arcminutes (19,000 light-years or 6 kiloparsecs) wide. About the Data Data Description: The Hubble image was created from HST data from proposal 10585: A. Aloisi (STScI/ESA), F. Annibali, C. Leitherer, and J. Mack (STScI), M. Sirianni (STScI/ESA), M. Tosi (INAF, Astronomical Observatory of Bologna), and R. van der Marel (STScI). Instrument: ACS/WFC Exposure Date(s): November 2005 Exposure Time: 5.3 hours Filters: F435W ("B"), F555W ("V"), F658N (Halpha [N II]), and F814W ("I") About the Image Image Credit: NASA, ESA, A. Aloisi (STScI/ESA), and The Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hub ble Collaboration Release Date: July 3, 2007 Color
This image is a composite of many separate exposures made by the ACS instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope using several different filters. Three filters were used to sample broad wavelength ranges. One filter was used to sample narrow wavelength emission. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic image. In this case, the assigned colors are:
F435W ("B") blue F555W ("V") green F658N (Halpha [N II]) and F814W ("I") red
Orientation: Stellar Fireworks Are Ablaze in Galaxy NGC 4449 [ http://imgsrc.hubbl…]
Fast_Facts
Technical facts about this news release:
About the Object Object Name: NGC 4449 Object Description: Magellanic dwarf irregular galaxy Position (J2000): R.A. 12h 28m 10s.96 Dec. 44° 05' 33".4 Constellation: Canes Venatici Distance: Approximately 13 million light-years (4 Mpc) away. Dimensions: This image is 5 arcminutes (19,000 light-years or 6 kiloparsecs) wide. About the Data Data Description: The Hubble image was created from HST data from proposal 10585: A. Aloisi (STScI/ESA), F. Annibali, C. Leitherer, and J. Mack (STScI), M. Sirianni (STScI/ESA), M. Tosi (INAF, Astronomical Observatory of Bologna), and R. van der Marel (STScI). Instrument: ACS/WFC Exposure Date(s): November 2005 Exposure Time: 5.3 hours Filters: F435W ("B"), F555W ("V"), F658N (Halpha [N II]), and F814W ("I") About the Image Image Credit: NASA, ESA, A. Aloisi (STScI/ESA), and The Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hub ble Collaboration Release Date: July 3, 2007 Color
This image is a composite of many separate exposures made by the ACS instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope using several different filters. Three filters were used to sample broad wavelength ranges. One filter was used to sample narrow wavelength emission. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic image. In this case, the assigned colors are:
F435W ("B") blue F555W ("V") green F658N (Halpha [N II]) and F814W ("I") red
Orientation: Stellar Fireworks Are Ablaze in Galaxy NGC 4449 [ http://imgsrc.hubbl…]
Fast Facts
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*Image Type:*: Astronomical
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*Image Type:*: Astronomical
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*Release Date*:July 3, 2007 09:00 AM (EDT)
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*Release Date*:July 3, 2007 09:00 AM (EDT)
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*News Release Number:*: STScI-2007-26a
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*News Release Number:*: STScI-2007-26a
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*Title*:Stellar Fireworks Are Ablaze in Galaxy NGC 4449
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*Title*:Stellar Fireworks Are Ablaze in Galaxy NGC 4449
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*Description*:
On July 4, fireworks blaze over the skies of American cities in the annual Independence Day celebrations.
But nearly 12.5 million light-years away in the dwarf galaxy NGC 4449 stellar "fireworks" are going off all the time.
Hundreds of thousands of vibrant blue and red stars blaze in this image taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Hot bluish-white clusters of massive stars are scattered throughout the galaxy, interspersed with numerous dustier, reddish regions of current star formation. Massive dark clouds of gas and dust are silhouetted against the starlight.
NGC 4449 has been forming stars for several billion years, but currently it is experiencing a star formation event at a much higher rate than in the past. This unusually explosive and intense star formation activity qualifies as a starburst. At the current rate, the gas supply that feeds the stellar production would only last for another billion years or so.
Starbursts usually occur in the central regions of galaxies, but NGC 4449 has more widespread star formation activity, since the very youngest stars are observed both in the nucleus and in streams surrounding the galaxy.
A "global" starburst like NGC 4449 resembles primordial star forming galaxies, which grew by merging with and accreting smaller stellar systems. Since NGC 4449 is close enough to be observed in great detail, it is the ideal laboratory for the investigation of what may have occurred during galactic formation and evolution in the early universe.
It's likely that the current widespread starburst was triggered by interaction or merging with a smaller companion. NGC 4449 belongs to a group of galaxies in the constellation Canes Venatici. Astronomers think that NGC 4449's star formation has been influenced by interactions with several of its neighbors.
This image was taken in November 2005 by an international science team led by Alessandra Aloisi of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore and the European Space Agency (ESA). Other team members include Francesca Annibali (STScI), Claus Leitherer (STScI), Jennifer Mack (STScI), Marco Sirianni (STScI/ESA), Monica Tosi (INAF-OAB), and Roeland van der Marel (STScI).
Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys observed the NGC 4449 in blue, visible, infrared, and H-alpha light.
For additional information, contact:
Ray Villard Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md. (Phone: 410-338-4514; E-mail: villard@stsci.edu)
Lars Lindberg Christensen ESA/Hubble/ST-ECF, Garching, Germany (Phone: 49-89-320-06-306; E-mail: lars@eso.org)
Alessandra Aloisi Space Telescope Science Institute/European Space Agency, Baltimore, Md. (Phone: 410-338-4519; E-mail: aloisi@stsci.edu)
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*Description*:
On July 4, fireworks blaze over the skies of American cities in the annual Independence Day celebrations.
But nearly 12.5 million light-years away in the dwarf galaxy NGC 4449 stellar "fireworks" are going off all the time.
Hundreds of thousands of vibrant blue and red stars blaze in this image taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Hot bluish-white clusters of massive stars are scattered throughout the galaxy, interspersed with numerous dustier, reddish regions of current star formation. Massive dark clouds of gas and dust are silhouetted against the starlight.
NGC 4449 has been forming stars for several billion years, but currently it is experiencing a star formation event at a much higher rate than in the past. This unusually explosive and intense star formation activity qualifies as a starburst. At the current rate, the gas supply that feeds the stellar production would only last for another billion years or so.
Starbursts usually occur in the central regions of galaxies, but NGC 4449 has more widespread star formation activity, since the very youngest stars are observed both in the nucleus and in streams surrounding the galaxy.
A "global" starburst like NGC 4449 resembles primordial star forming galaxies, which grew by merging with and accreting smaller stellar systems. Since NGC 4449 is close enough to be observed in great detail, it is the ideal laboratory for the investigation of what may have occurred during galactic formation and evolution in the early universe.
It's likely that the current widespread starburst was triggered by interaction or merging with a smaller companion. NGC 4449 belongs to a group of galaxies in the constellation Canes Venatici. Astronomers think that NGC 4449's star formation has been influenced by interactions with several of its neighbors.
This image was taken in November 2005 by an international science team led by Alessandra Aloisi of the Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore and the European Space Agency (ESA). Other team members include Francesca Annibali (STScI), Claus Leitherer (STScI), Jennifer Mack (STScI), Marco Sirianni (STScI/ESA), Monica Tosi (INAF-OAB), and Roeland van der Marel (STScI).
Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys observed the NGC 4449 in blue, visible, infrared, and H-alpha light.
For additional information, contact:
Ray Villard Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md. (Phone: 410-338-4514; E-mail: villard@stsci.edu)
Lars Lindberg Christensen ESA/Hubble/ST-ECF, Garching, Germany (Phone: 49-89-320-06-306; E-mail: lars@eso.org)
Alessandra Aloisi Space Telescope Science Institute/European Space Agency, Baltimore, Md. (Phone: 410-338-4519; E-mail: aloisi@stsci.edu)
