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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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A Shocking Surprise in Stephan's Quintet
Title
A Shocking Surprise in Stephan's Quintet
Title
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Description:
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This false-color composite image of the Stephan's Quintet galaxy cluster clearly shows one of the largest shock waves ever seen (green arc), produced by one galaxy falling toward another at over a million miles per hour. It is made up of data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and a ground-based telescope in Spain.
Four of the five galaxies in this image are involved in a violent collision, which has already stripped most of the hydrogen gas from the interiors of the galaxies. The centers of the galaxies appear as bright yellow-pink knots inside a blue haze of stars, and the galaxy producing all the turmoil, NGC7318b, is the left of two small bright regions in the middle right of the image. One galaxy, the large spiral at the bottom left of the image, is a foreground object and is not associated with the cluster.
The titanic shock wave, larger than our own Milky Way galaxy, was detected by the ground-based telescope using visible-light wavelengths. It consists of hot hydrogen gas. As NGC7318b collides with gas spread throughout the cluster, atoms of hydrogen are heated in the shock wave, producing the green glow.
Spitzer pointed its infrared spectrograph at the peak of this shock wave (middle of green glow) to learn more about its inner workings. This instrument breaks light apart into its basic components. Data from the instrument are referred to as spectra and are displayed as curving lines that indicate the amount of light coming at each specific wavelength.
The Spitzer spectrum showed a strong infrared signature for incredibly turbulent gas made up of hydrogen molecules. This gas is caused when atoms of hydrogen rapidly pair-up to form molecules in the wake of the shock wave. Molecular hydrogen, unlike atomic hydrogen, gives off most of its energy through vibrations that emit in the infrared.
This highly disturbed gas is the most turbulent molecular hydrogen ever seen. Astronomers were surprised not only by the turbulence of the gas, but by the incredible strength of the emission. The reason the molecular hydrogen emission is so powerful is not yet completely understood.
Stephan's Quintet is located 300 million light-years away in the Pegasus constellation.
This image is composed of three data sets: near-infrared light (blue) and visible light called H-alpha (green) from the Calar Alto Observatory in Spain, operated by the Max Planck Institute in Germany; and 8-micron infrared light (red) from Spitzer's infrared array camera.
Description
This false-color composite image of the Stephan's Quintet galaxy cluster clearly shows one of the largest shock waves ever seen (green arc), produced by one galaxy falling toward another at over a million miles per hour. It is made up of data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope and a ground-based telescope in Spain.
Four of the five galaxies in this image are involved in a violent collision, which has already stripped most of the hydrogen gas from the interiors of the galaxies. The centers of the galaxies appear as bright yellow-pink knots inside a blue haze of stars, and the galaxy producing all the turmoil, NGC7318b, is the left of two small bright regions in the middle right of the image. One galaxy, the large spiral at the bottom left of the image, is a foreground object and is not associated with the cluster.
The titanic shock wave, larger than our own Milky Way galaxy, was detected by the ground-based telescope using visible-light wavelengths. It consists of hot hydrogen gas. As NGC7318b collides with gas spread throughout the cluster, atoms of hydrogen are heated in the shock wave, producing the green glow.
Spitzer pointed its infrared spectrograph at the peak of this shock wave (middle of green glow) to learn more about its inner workings. This instrument breaks light apart into its basic components. Data from the instrument are referred to as spectra and are displayed as curving lines that indicate the amount of light coming at each specific wavelength.
The Spitzer spectrum showed a strong infrared signature for incredibly turbulent gas made up of hydrogen molecules. This gas is caused when atoms of hydrogen rapidly pair-up to form molecules in the wake of the shock wave. Molecular hydrogen, unlike atomic hydrogen, gives off most of its energy through vibrations that emit in the infrared.
This highly disturbed gas is the most turbulent molecular hydrogen ever seen. Astronomers were surprised not only by the turbulence of the gas, but by the incredible strength of the emission. The reason the molecular hydrogen emission is so powerful is not yet completely understood.
Stephan's Quintet is located 300 million light-years away in the Pegasus constellation.
This image is composed of three data sets: near-infrared light (blue) and visible light called H-alpha (green) from the Calar Alto Observatory in Spain, operated by the Max Planck Institute in Germany; and 8-micron infrared light (red) from Spitzer's infrared array camera.
Description
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Release Date:
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2006/03/02
Release_Date
2006/03/02
Release Date
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Release Credit:
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NASA/JPL-Caltech/Max -Planck Institute/P. Appleton (SSC/Caltech)
Release_Credit
NASA/JPL-Caltech/Max -Planck Institute/P. Appleton (SSC/Caltech)
Release Credit
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Image Credit:
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8-Micron (IRAC): NASA/JPL-Caltech/J. Houck (Cornell)
Image_Credit
8-Micron (IRAC): NASA/JPL-Caltech/J. Houck (Cornell)
Image Credit
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Image Credit:
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Composite- NASA/JPL-Caltech/Max -Planck Institute/ P. Appleton (SSC/Caltech)
Image_Credit
Composite- NASA/JPL-Caltech/Max -Planck Institute/ P. Appleton (SSC/Caltech)
Image Credit
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Object name:
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Stephan's Quintet
Object_name
Stephan's Quintet
Object name
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Object name:
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NGC7317
Object_name
NGC7317
Object name
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Object name:
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NGC7318A
Object_name
NGC7318A
Object name
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Object name:
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NGC7318B
Object_name
NGC7318B
Object name
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Object name:
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NGC7319
Object_name
NGC7319
Object name
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Object name:
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NGC7320
Object_name
NGC7320
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: *22h35m57.00s *Dec: *33d57m36.00s
Position_(J2000)
*RA: *22h35m57.00s *Dec: *33d57m36.00s
Position (J2000)
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Distance:
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300 million light-years
Distance
300 million light-years
Distance
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Constellation:
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Pegasus
Constellation
Pegasus
Constellation
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Wavelength:
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IRAC: 8 microns; IRS: 5-38 microns
Wavelength
IRAC: 8 microns; IRS: 5-38 microns
Wavelength
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Wavelength:
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Near-IR (2 microns), H-alpha (0.7 microns)
Wavelength
Near-IR (2 microns), H-alpha (0.7 microns)
Wavelength
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Image scale:
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4.4 x 4.4 arcmin
Image_scale
4.4 x 4.4 arcmin
Image scale
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Observers:
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P. Appleton (SSC/Caltech)
K. Xu (SSC/Caltech)
W. Reach (SSC/Caltech)
M. Dopita (Australian National University)
Y. Gao (Purple Mountain Observatory, China)
N. Lu (SSC/Caltech)
C. Popescu (Max Planck Institut fuer Kernphysik, Heidelberg, Germany)
J. Sulentic (University of Alabama)
R. Tuffs (Max Planck Institut fuer Kernphysik, Heidelberg, Germany)
M. Yun (University of Massachusetts)
Observers
P. Appleton (SSC/Caltech)
K. Xu (SSC/Caltech)
W. Reach (SSC/Caltech)
M. Dopita (Australian National University)
Y. Gao (Purple Mountain Observatory, China)
N. Lu (SSC/Caltech)
C. Popescu (Max Planck Institut fuer Kernphysik, Heidelberg, Germany)
J. Sulentic (University of Alabama)
R. Tuffs (Max Planck Institut fuer Kernphysik, Heidelberg, Germany)
M. Yun (University of Massachusetts)
Observers
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Instrument:
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IRAC IRS
Instrument
IRAC IRS
Instrument
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Instrument:
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Calar Alto Observatory
Instrument
Calar Alto Observatory
Instrument
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Exposure Date:
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IRAC: July 24, 2004; IRS: Nov 17, Dec 8, 2004
Exposure_Date
IRAC: July 24, 2004; IRS: Nov 17, Dec 8, 2004
Exposure Date
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Exposure Time:
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IRAC: 432 sec; IRS: 4000 sec
Exposure_Time
IRAC: 432 sec; IRS: 4000 sec
Exposure Time
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Orientation:
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North is up
Orientation
North is up
Orientation
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Related links:
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Related_links
Related links
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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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Visible Light
facet_what
Visible Light
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Pegasus
facet_what
Pegasus
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Planck
facet_what
Planck
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Infrared Array Camera (IRAC)
facet_what
Infrared Array Camera (IRAC)
facet_what
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facet_what:
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Infrared Spectrograph (IRS)
facet_what
Infrared Spectrograph (IRS)
facet_what
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facet_where:
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Milky Way Galaxy
facet_where
Milky Way Galaxy
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Germany
facet_where
Germany
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Spain
facet_where
Spain
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Alabama
facet_where
Alabama
facet_where
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facet_where:
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China
facet_where
China
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Massachusetts
facet_where
Massachusetts
facet_where
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facet_where:
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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
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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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July 24, 2004
facet_when
July 24, 2004
facet_when
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facet_when:
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Dec 8, 2004
facet_when
Dec 8, 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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ssc2006-08a
Image_#
ssc2006-08a
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-ssc2006-08 a
UID
SPD-SPITZ-ssc2006-08 a
UID
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