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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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Ready for the Cosmic Ball
Title
Ready for the Cosmic Ball
Title
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Description:
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Something appears to be peering through a shiny red mask, in this new false-colored image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. The mysterious blue eyes are actually starlight from the cores of two merging galaxies, called NGC 2207 and IC 2163. The mask is the galaxies' dusty spiral arms.
NGC 2207 and IC 2163 recently 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 Spitzer image reveals that the galactic mask is adorned with strings of pearl-like beads. These dusty clusters of newborn stars, called "beads on a string" by astronomers, appear as white balls throughout the arms of both galaxies. They were formed when the galaxies first interacted, forcing dust and gas to clump together into colonies of stars.
This type of beading has been seen before in other galaxies, but it took Spitzer's infrared eyes to identify them in NGC 2207 and IC 2163. Spitzer was able to see the beads because the stars inside heat up surrounding dust, which then radiates with infrared light.
The biggest bead lighting up the left side of the mask is also the densest. In fact, some of its central stars might have merged to form a black hole. (Now, that would be quite the Mardi Gras mask!)
This picture, taken by Spitzer's infrared array camera, is a four-channel composite. It shows light with wavelengths of 3.6 microns (blue); 4.5 microns (green); and 5.8 and 8.0 microns (red). The contribution from starlight (measured at 3.6 microns) has been subtracted from the 5.8- and 8-micron channels to enhance the visibility of the dust features.
Description
Something appears to be peering through a shiny red mask, in this new false-colored image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. The mysterious blue eyes are actually starlight from the cores of two merging galaxies, called NGC 2207 and IC 2163. The mask is the galaxies' dusty spiral arms.
NGC 2207 and IC 2163 recently 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 Spitzer image reveals that the galactic mask is adorned with strings of pearl-like beads. These dusty clusters of newborn stars, called "beads on a string" by astronomers, appear as white balls throughout the arms of both galaxies. They were formed when the galaxies first interacted, forcing dust and gas to clump together into colonies of stars.
This type of beading has been seen before in other galaxies, but it took Spitzer's infrared eyes to identify them in NGC 2207 and IC 2163. Spitzer was able to see the beads because the stars inside heat up surrounding dust, which then radiates with infrared light.
The biggest bead lighting up the left side of the mask is also the densest. In fact, some of its central stars might have merged to form a black hole. (Now, that would be quite the Mardi Gras mask!)
This picture, taken by Spitzer's infrared array camera, is a four-channel composite. It shows light with wavelengths of 3.6 microns (blue); 4.5 microns (green); and 5.8 and 8.0 microns (red). The contribution from starlight (measured at 3.6 microns) has been subtracted from the 5.8- and 8-micron channels to enhance the visibility of the dust features.
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/JPL-Caltech/D. Elmegreen (Vassar)
Release_Credit
NASA/JPL-Caltech/D. Elmegreen (Vassar)
Release Credit
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Image Credit:
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NASA/JPL-Caltech/D. Elmegreen (Vassar)
Image_Credit
NASA/JPL-Caltech/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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3.6 microns (blue); 4.5 microns (green); and 5.8 and 8.0 microns (red)
Wavelength
3.6 microns (blue); 4.5 microns (green); and 5.8 and 8.0 microns (red)
Wavelength
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Image scale:
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5 x 5 arcmin
Image_scale
5 x 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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Exposure Date:
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22 February 2005
Exposure_Date
22 February 2005
Exposure Date
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Exposure Time:
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30 seconds
Exposure_Time
30 seconds
Exposure Time
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Orientation:
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North is 150 degrees CW from up
Orientation
North is 150 degrees CW 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_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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facet_when:
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22 February 2005
facet_when
22 February 2005
facet_when
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facet_when_year:
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2005
facet_when_year
2005
facet_when_year
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Image #:
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ssc2006-11a
Image_#
ssc2006-11a
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 a
UID
SPD-SPITZ-ssc2006-11 a
UID
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