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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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Eyes in the Sky
Title
Eyes in the Sky
Title
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Description:
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These shape-shifting galaxies have taken on the form of a giant mask. The icy blue eyes are actually the cores of two merging galaxies, called NGC 2207 and IC 2163, and the mask is their spiral arms. The false-colored image consists of infrared data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope (red) and visible data from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope (blue/green).
NGC 2207 and IC 2163 met and began a sort of gravitational tango about 40 million years ago. The two galaxies are tugging at each other, stimulating new stars to form. Eventually, this cosmic ball will come to an end, when the galaxies meld into one. The dancing duo is located 140 million light-years away in the Canis Major constellation.
The infrared data from Spitzer highlight the galaxies' dusty regions, while the visible data from Hubble indicates starlight. In the Hubble-only image (not pictured here), the dusty regions appear as dark lanes.
The Hubble data correspond to light with wavelengths of .44 and .55 microns (blue and green, respectively). The Spitzer data represent light of 8 microns.
Description
These shape-shifting galaxies have taken on the form of a giant mask. The icy blue eyes are actually the cores of two merging galaxies, called NGC 2207 and IC 2163, and the mask is their spiral arms. The false-colored image consists of infrared data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope (red) and visible data from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope (blue/green).
NGC 2207 and IC 2163 met and began a sort of gravitational tango about 40 million years ago. The two galaxies are tugging at each other, stimulating new stars to form. Eventually, this cosmic ball will come to an end, when the galaxies meld into one. The dancing duo is located 140 million light-years away in the Canis Major constellation.
The infrared data from Spitzer highlight the galaxies' dusty regions, while the visible data from Hubble indicates starlight. In the Hubble-only image (not pictured here), the dusty regions appear as dark lanes.
The Hubble data correspond to light with wavelengths of .44 and .55 microns (blue and green, respectively). The Spitzer data represent light of 8 microns.
Description
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Release Date:
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2006/04/26
Release_Date
2006/04/26
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, ESA/JPL-Caltech/STSc I/D. Elmegreen (Vassar)
Release_Credit
NASA, ESA/JPL-Caltech/STSc I/D. Elmegreen (Vassar)
Release Credit
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Image Credit:
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NASA, ESA/JPL-Caltech/STSc I/D. Elmegreen (Vassar)
Image_Credit
NASA, ESA/JPL-Caltech/STSc I/D. Elmegreen (Vassar)
Image Credit
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Object name:
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NGC2207
Object_name
NGC2207
Object name
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Object name:
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IC2163
Object_name
IC2163
Object name
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Object type:
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galaxy, galaxies
Object_type
galaxy, galaxies
Object type
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Position (J2000):
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*RA: *06h16m25.00s *Dec: *-21d22m26.30s
Position_(J2000)
*RA: *06h16m25.00s *Dec: *-21d22m26.30s
Position (J2000)
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Distance:
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140 million light-years
Distance
140 million light-years
Distance
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Constellation:
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Canis Major
Constellation
Canis Major
Constellation
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Wavelength:
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5.8?8.0 microns (red)
Wavelength
5.8?8.0 microns (red)
Wavelength
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Wavelength:
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0.44 microns (blue); 0.55 microns (green)
Wavelength
0.44 microns (blue); 0.55 microns (green)
Wavelength
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Image scale:
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4.8 x 2.5 arcmin
Image_scale
4.8 x 2.5 arcmin
Image scale
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Observers:
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Debra Elmegreen (Vassar College)
Bruce Elmegreen (T.J. Watson Research Center)
Michele Kaufman (Ohio State University)
Kartik Sheth (Spitzer Science Center)
Curtis Struck (Iowa State University)
Magnus Thomasson (Onsala Space Observatory)
Elias Brinks (University of Hertfordshire)
Observers
Debra Elmegreen (Vassar College)
Bruce Elmegreen (T.J. Watson Research Center)
Michele Kaufman (Ohio State University)
Kartik Sheth (Spitzer Science Center)
Curtis Struck (Iowa State University)
Magnus Thomasson (Onsala Space Observatory)
Elias Brinks (University of Hertfordshire)
Observers
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Instrument:
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IRAC
Instrument
IRAC
Instrument
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Instrument:
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Hubble Space Telescope
Instrument
Hubble Space Telescope
Instrument
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Orientation:
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N is 167 deg CCW from up
Orientation
N is 167 deg CCW from up
Orientation
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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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Canis Major
facet_what
Canis Major
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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Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
facet_what
Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
facet_what
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facet_where:
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Iowa
facet_where
Iowa
facet_where
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facet_where:
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NGC 2207 and IC 2163
facet_where
NGC 2207 and IC 2163
facet_where
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facet_where:
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Ohio
facet_where
Ohio
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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Image #:
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ssc2006-11b
Image_#
ssc2006-11b
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-ssc2006-11 b
UID
SPD-SPITZ-ssc2006-11 b
UID
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