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Collection:
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NASA Spitzer Space Telescope Collection
Collection
NASA Spitzer Space Telescope Collection
Collection
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Title:
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Mysterious Blob Galaxies Revealed
Title
Mysterious Blob Galaxies Revealed
Title
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Description:
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This image composite shows a giant galactic blob (red, left) and the three merging galaxies NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope discovered within it (yellow, right).
Blobs are intensely glowing clouds of hot hydrogen gas that envelop faraway galaxies. They are about 10 times as large as the galaxies they surround. Visible-light images like the one shown here (left), reveal the vast extent of blobs, but don't provide much information about their host galaxies.
Using its heat-seeking infrared eyes, Spitzer was able to see the dusty galaxies tucked inside one well-known blob located 11 billion light-years away. The findings reveal three monstrously bright galaxies, trillions of times brighter than the Sun, in the process of merging together (right).
Spitzer also observed three other blobs located in the same cosmic neighborhood, all of which were found to be glaringly bright. One of these blobs is also known to be a galactic merger, only between two galaxies instead of three. It remains to be seen whether the final two blobs studied also contain mergers.
The Spitzer data were acquired by its multiband imaging photometer. The visible-light image was taken by the Blanco Telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, Chile.
Description
This image composite shows a giant galactic blob (red, left) and the three merging galaxies NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope discovered within it (yellow, right).
Blobs are intensely glowing clouds of hot hydrogen gas that envelop faraway galaxies. They are about 10 times as large as the galaxies they surround. Visible-light images like the one shown here (left), reveal the vast extent of blobs, but don't provide much information about their host galaxies.
Using its heat-seeking infrared eyes, Spitzer was able to see the dusty galaxies tucked inside one well-known blob located 11 billion light-years away. The findings reveal three monstrously bright galaxies, trillions of times brighter than the Sun, in the process of merging together (right).
Spitzer also observed three other blobs located in the same cosmic neighborhood, all of which were found to be glaringly bright. One of these blobs is also known to be a galactic merger, only between two galaxies instead of three. It remains to be seen whether the final two blobs studied also contain mergers.
The Spitzer data were acquired by its multiband imaging photometer. The visible-light image was taken by the Blanco Telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, Chile.
Description
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Release Date:
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2005/01/11
Release_Date
2005/01/11
Release Date
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Press Release:
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Press_Release
Press Release
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Release Credit:
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NASA/JPL-Caltech/H. Teplitz (SSC/Caltech)
Release_Credit
NASA/JPL-Caltech/H. Teplitz (SSC/Caltech)
Release Credit
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Image Credit:
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NASA/JPL-Caltech/H. Teplitz (SSC/Caltech)
Image_Credit
NASA/JPL-Caltech/H. Teplitz (SSC/Caltech)
Image Credit
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Object name:
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High Redshift Galaxy Cluster J2143-4423
Object_name
High Redshift Galaxy Cluster J2143-4423
Object name
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Object type:
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Interacting galaxies
Object_type
Interacting galaxies
Object type
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Position (J2000):
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*RA: *21h42m42.73s *Dec: *-44d30m10.20s
Position_(J2000)
*RA: *21h42m42.73s *Dec: *-44d30m10.20s
Position (J2000)
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Distance:
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19210 Mpc
Distance
19210 Mpc
Distance
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Constellation:
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Grus (the Crane)
Constellation
Grus (the Crane)
Constellation
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Wavelength:
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24 microns
Wavelength
24 microns
Wavelength
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Image scale:
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30x30 arcsec
Image_scale
30x30 arcsec
Image scale
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Observers:
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H. Teplitz (SSC/Caltech)
P. Francis (The Australian National University)
P. Palunas (University of Texas at Austin)
G. Williger (Johns Hopkins University)
B. E. Woodgate (Goddard Space Flight Center)
Observers
H. Teplitz (SSC/Caltech)
P. Francis (The Australian National University)
P. Palunas (University of Texas at Austin)
G. Williger (Johns Hopkins University)
B. E. Woodgate (Goddard Space Flight Center)
Observers
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Instrument:
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MIPS
Instrument
MIPS
Instrument
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Exposure Date:
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October 18, November 4, & November 5, 2004
Exposure_Date
October 18, November 4, & November 5, 2004
Exposure Date
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Exposure Time:
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9 hours total
Exposure_Time
9 hours total
Exposure Time
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Orientation:
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North is up
Orientation
North is up
Orientation
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note:
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*Visible-Light Image* Screen-Resolution (450x450): JPEG [ http://ipac.jpl.nas…ssc2005-03a1_small.j pg ] High-Resolution (1188x1188): JPEG | Mac TIFF | PC TIFF Credit: CTIO/P. Palunas
note
*Visible-Light Image* Screen-Resolution (450x450): JPEG [ http://ipac.jpl.nas…ssc2005-03a1_small.j pg ] High-Resolution (1188x1188): JPEG | Mac TIFF | PC TIFF Credit: CTIO/P. Palunas note
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note:
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*Spitzer Image* Screen-Resolution (450x450): JPEG [ http://ipac.jpl.nas…ssc2005-03a2_small.j pg ] High-Resolution (1188x1188): JPEG | Mac TIFF | PC TIFF Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/H. Teplitz (SSC/Caltech)
note
*Spitzer Image* Screen-Resolution (450x450): JPEG [ http://ipac.jpl.nas…ssc2005-03a2_small.j pg ] High-Resolution (1188x1188): JPEG | Mac TIFF | PC TIFF Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/H. Teplitz (SSC/Caltech) note
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facet_what:
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Spitzer Space Telescope
facet_what
Spitzer Space Telescope
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Sun
facet_what
Sun
facet_what
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facet_what:
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MIPS
facet_what
MIPS
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Grus
facet_what
Grus
facet_what
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facet_what:
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galaxies
facet_what
galaxies
facet_what
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facet_where:
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Austin
facet_where
Austin
facet_where
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facet_where:
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|
Texas
facet_where
Texas
facet_where
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|
facet_where:
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|
Chile
facet_where
Chile
facet_where
|
|
facet_where:
|
|
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where
Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
facet_where
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|
facet_where:
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Washington, D.C.
facet_where
Washington, D.C.
facet_where
|
|
facet_where:
|
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Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
facet_where
Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC)
facet_where
|
|
facet_where:
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Stennis Space Center (SSC)
facet_where
Stennis Space Center (SSC)
facet_where
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|
facet_when:
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November 5, 2004
facet_when
November 5, 2004
facet_when
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facet_when_year:
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|
2004
facet_when_year
2004
facet_when_year
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Image #:
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ssc2005-03a
Image_#
ssc2005-03a
Image #
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original url:
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original_url
original url
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UID:
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SPD-SPITZ-ssc2005-03 a
UID
SPD-SPITZ-ssc2005-03 a
UID
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