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Galaxy Mission Completes Fou
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PIA09337
GALEX Telescope
| Title |
Galaxy Mission Completes Four Star-Studded Years in Space |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer is celebrating its fourth year in space with some of M81's "hottest" stars. In a new ultraviolet image, the magnificent M81 spiral galaxy is shown at the center. The orbiting observatory spies the galaxy's "sizzling young starlets" as wisps of bluish-white swirling around a central golden glow. The tints of gold at M81's center come from a "senior citizen" population of smoldering stars. "This is a spectacular view of M81," says Dr. John Huchra, of the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, Mass. "When we proposed to observe this galaxy with GALEX we hoped to see globular clusters, open clusters, and young stars...this view is everything that we were hoping for." The image is one of thousands gathered so far by GALEX, which launched April 28, 2003. This mission uses ultraviolet wavelengths to measure the history of star formation 80 percent of the way back to the Big Bang. The large fluffy bluish-white material to the left of M81 is a neighboring galaxy called Holmberg IX. This galaxy is practically invisible to the naked human eye. However, it is illuminated brilliantly in GALEX's wide ultraviolet eyes. Its ultraviolet colors show that it is actively forming young stars. The bluish-white fuzz in the space surrounding M81 and Holmberg IX is new star formation triggered by gravitational interactions between the two galaxies. Huchra notes that the active star formation in Holmberg IX is a surprise, and says that more research needs to be done in light of the new findings from GALEX. "Some astronomers suspect that the galaxy Holmberg IX is the result of a galactic interaction between M81 and another neighboring galaxy M82," says Huchra. "This particular galaxy is especially important because there are a lot of galaxies like Holmberg IX around our Milky Way galaxy. By understanding how Holmberg IX came to be, we hope to understand how all the little galaxies surrounding the Milky Way developed.""Four years after GALEX's launch, the spacecraft is performing magnificently. The mission results have been simply amazing as it helps us to unlock the secrets of galaxies, the building blocks of our universe," says Kerry Erickson, GALEX project manager. M81 and Holberg IX are located approximately 12 million light-years away in the northern constellation Ursa Major. In addition to leading the GALEX observations of M81, Huchra and his team also took observations of the region with NASA's Spitzer and Hubble space telescopes. By combining all these views of M81, Huchra hopes to gain a better understanding about how M81 has developed into the spiral galaxy we see today. The California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, Calif., leads the Galaxy Evolution Explorer mission and is responsible for science operations and data analysis. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, also in Pasadena, manages the mission and built the science instrument. The mission was developed under NASA's Explorers Program, managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. Researchers from South Korea and France collaborated on this mission. |
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Galaxy UGC10445
PIA04623
GALEX Telescope
| Title |
Galaxy UGC10445 |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This ultraviolet color image of the galaxy UGC10445 was taken by NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer on June 7 and June 14, 2003. UGC10445 is a spiral galaxy located 40 million light-years from Earth. The Galaxy Evolution Explorer mission is led by the California Institute of Technology, which is also responsible for the science operations and data analysis. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., a division of Caltech, manages the mission and built the science instrument. The mission was developed under NASA's Explorers Program, managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The mission's international partners include South Korea and France. |
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Galaxy Centaurus A
PIA04624
GALEX Telescope
| Title |
Galaxy Centaurus A |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This image of the active galaxy Centaurus A was taken by NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer on June 7, 2003. The galaxy is located 30 million light-years from Earth and is seen edge on, with a prominent dust lane across the major axis. In this image the near ultraviolet emission is represented as green, and the far ultraviolet emission as blue. The galaxy exhibits jets of high energy particles, which were traced by the X-ray emission and measured by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. These X-ray emissions are seen as red in the image. Several regions of ultraviolet emission can be seen where the jets of high energy particles intersect with hydrogen clouds in the upper left corner of the image. The emission shown may be the result of recent star formation triggered by the compression of gas by the jet. The Galaxy Evolution Explorer mission is led by the California Institute of Technology, which is also responsible for the science operations and data analysis. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., a division of Caltech, manages the mission and built the science instrument. The mission was developed under NASA's Explorers Program, managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The mission's international partners include South Korea and France. |
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Galaxy NGC5962
PIA04635
GALEX Telescope
| Title |
Galaxy NGC5962 |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer took this ultraviolet color image of the galaxy NGC5962 on June 7, 2003. This spiral galaxy is located 90 million light-years from Earth. The Galaxy Evolution Explorer mission is led by the California Institute of Technology, which is also responsible for the science operations and data analysis. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., a division of Caltech, manages the mission and built the science instrument. The mission was developed under NASA's Explorers Program, managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The mission's international partners include South Korea and France. |
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Galaxy Messier 51
PIA04628
GALEX Telescope
| Title |
Galaxy Messier 51 |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer took this image of the spiral galaxy Messier 51 on June 19 and 20, 2003. Messier 51 is located 27 million light-years from Earth. Due to a lack of star formation, the companion galaxy in the top of the picture is barely visible as a near ultraviolet object. The Galaxy Evolution Explorer mission is led by the California Institute of Technology, which is also responsible for the science operations and data analysis. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., a division of Caltech, manages the mission and built the science instrument. The mission was developed under NASA's Explorers Program, managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The mission's international partners include South Korea and France. |
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Galaxy Messier 83
PIA04629
GALEX Telescope
| Title |
Galaxy Messier 83 |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This image of the spiral galaxy Messier 83 was taken by NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer on June 7, 2003. Located 15 million light years from Earth and known as the Southern Pinwheel Galaxy, Messier 83 displays significant amounts of ultraviolet emissions far from the optically bright portion of the galaxy. It is also known to have an extended hydrogen disc that appears to radiate a faint ultraviolet emission. The red stars in the foreground of the image are Milky Way stars. The Galaxy Evolution Explorer mission is led by the California Institute of Technology, which is also responsible for the science operations and data analysis. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., a division of Caltech, manages the mission and built the science instrument. The mission was developed under NASA's Explorers Program, managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The mission's international partners include South Korea and France. |
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Groth Deep Image
PIA04625
GALEX Telescope
| Title |
Groth Deep Image |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This ultraviolet color blowup of the Groth Deep Image was taken by NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer on June 22 and June 23, 2003. Many hundreds of galaxies are detected in this portion of the image. NASA astronomers believe the faint red galaxies are 6 billion light years away. The Galaxy Evolution Explorer mission is led by the California Institute of Technology, which is also responsible for the science operations and data analysis. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., a division of Caltech, manages the mission and built the science instrument. The mission was developed under NASA's Explorers Program, managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The mission's international partners include South Korea and France. |
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Messier 101
PIA04631
GALEX Telescope
| Title |
Messier 101 |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer took this near ultraviolet image of Messier 101 on June 20, 2003. Messier 101 is a large spiral galaxy located 20 million light-years from Earth. The Galaxy Evolution Explorer mission is led by the California Institute of Technology, which is also responsible for the science operations and data analysis. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., a division of Caltech, manages the mission and built the science instrument. The mission was developed under NASA's Explorers Program, managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The mission's international partners include South Korea and France. |
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Groth Deep Locations Image
PIA04626
GALEX Telescope
| Title |
Groth Deep Locations Image |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer photographed this ultraviolet color blowup of the Groth Deep Image on June 22 and June 23, 2003. Hundreds of galaxies are detected in this portion of the image, and the faint red galaxies are believed to be 6 billion light years away. The white boxes show the location of these distant galaxies, of which more than a 100 can be detected in this image. NASA astronomers expect to detect 10,000 such galaxies after extrapolating to the full image at a deeper exposure level. The Galaxy Evolution Explorer mission is led by the California Institute of Technology, which is also responsible for the science operations and data analysis. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., a division of Caltech, manages the mission and built the science instrument. The mission was developed under NASA's Explorers Program, managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The mission's international partners include South Korea and France. |
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Galaxy M101
PIA04630
GALEX Telescope
| Title |
Galaxy M101 |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This three-color image of galaxy M101 was taken by NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer on June 20, 2003. The far ultraviolet emissions are shown in blue, the near ultraviolet emissions are green, and the red emissions, which were taken from NASA's Digital Sky Survey, represent visible light. This image combines short, medium, and long "exposure" pictures to best display the evolution of star formation in a spiral galaxy. The Galaxy Evolution Explorer mission is led by the California Institute of Technology, which is also responsible for the science operations and data analysis. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., a division of Caltech, manages the mission and built the science instrument. The mission was developed under NASA's Explorers Program, managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The mission's international partners include South Korea and France. |
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Galaxy NGC5398
PIA04633
GALEX Telescope
| Title |
Galaxy NGC5398 |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This is an ultraviolet color image of the galaxy NGC5398 taken by NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer on June 7, 2003. NGC5398 is a barred spiral galaxy located 60 million light-years from Earth. The star formation is concentrated in the two bright regions of the image. The Galaxy Evolution Explorer mission is led by the California Institute of Technology, which is also responsible for the science operations and data analysis. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., a division of Caltech, manages the mission and built the science instrument. The mission was developed under NASA's Explorers Program, managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The mission's international partners include South Korea and France. |
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Galaxy NGC5474
PIA04634
GALEX Telescope
| Title |
Galaxy NGC5474 |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer took this ultraviolet color image of the galaxy NGC5474 on June 7, 2003. NGC5474 is located 20 million light-years from Earth and is within a group of galaxies dominated by the Messier 101 galaxy. Star formation in this galaxy shows some evidence of a disturbed spiral pattern, which may have been induced by tidal interactions with Messier 101. The Galaxy Evolution Explorer mission is led by the California Institute of Technology, which is also responsible for the science operations and data analysis. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., a division of Caltech, manages the mission and built the science instrument. The mission was developed under NASA's Explorers Program, managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The mission's international partners include South Korea and France. |
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Messier 101 Single Orbit Exp
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PIA04632
GALEX Telescope
| Title |
Messier 101 Single Orbit Exposure |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This single orbit exposure, ultraviolet color image of Messier 101 was taken by NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer on June 20, 2003. Messier 101 is a large spiral galaxy located 20 million light-years from Earth. This image is a short and medium "exposure" picture of the evolution of star formation in a spiral galaxy. The far ultraviolet emission detects the younger stars as concentrated in tight spiral arms, while the near ultraviolet emission, which traces stars living for more than 100 million years, displays the movement of the spiral pattern over a 100 million year period. The red stars in the foreground of the image are Milky Way stars. The Galaxy Evolution Explorer mission is led by the California Institute of Technology, which is also responsible for the science operations and data analysis. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., a division of Caltech, manages the mission and built the science instrument. The mission was developed under NASA's Explorers Program, managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The mission's international partners include South Korea and France. |
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Deep Imaging Survey
PIA04627
GALEX Telescope
| Title |
Deep Imaging Survey |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
This is the first Deep Imaging Survey image taken by NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer. On June 22 and 23, 2003, the spacecraft obtained this near ultraviolet image of the Groth region by adding multiple orbits for a total exposure time of 14,000 seconds. Tens of thousands of objects can be identified in this picture. The Galaxy Evolution Explorer mission is led by the California Institute of Technology, which is also responsible for the science operations and data analysis. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., a division of Caltech, manages the mission and built the science instrument. The mission was developed under NASA's Explorers Program, managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The mission's international partners include South Korea and France. |
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