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Chandra X-ray & Hubble Optic
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| Name |
Chandra X-ray & Hubble Optical Images of M33 X-7 |
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Gemini Optical Image of M33
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| Name |
Gemini Optical Image of M33 X-7 |
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Kitt Peak Optical Image of M
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| Name |
Kitt Peak Optical Image of M33 |
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Artist's Illustration of M33
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| Name |
Artist's Illustration of M33 X-7 |
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M33 X-7 with Scale Bar
| Name |
M33 X-7 with Scale Bar |
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M33 X-7: Heaviest Stellar Bl
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| Name |
M33 X-7: Heaviest Stellar Black Hole Discovered in Nearby Galaxy |
| Category |
Black Holes, Normal Galaxies & Starburst Galaxies |
| Release Date |
October 17, 2007 |
|
Nursery of New Stars
| Title |
Nursery of New Stars |
| Full Description |
This is a Hubble Space Telescope image (right) of a vast nebula called NGC 604, which lies in the neighboring spiral galaxy M33, located 2.7 million light-years away in the constellation Triangulum. This is a site where new stars are being born in a spiral arm of the galaxy. Though such nebulae are common in galaxies, this one is particularly large, nearly 1,500 light-years across. The nebula is so vast it is easily seen in ground-based telescopic images (left). At the heart of NGC 604 are over 200 hot stars, much more massive than our Sun (15 to 60 solar masses). They heat the gaseous walls of the nebula making the gas fluoresce. Their light also highlights the nebula's three-dimensional shape, like a lantern in a cavern. By studying the physical structure of a giant nebula, astronomers may determine how clusters of massive stars affect the evolution of the interstellar medium of the galaxy. The nebula also yields clues to its star formation history and will improve understanding of the starburst process when a galaxy undergoes a "firestorm" of star formation. The image was taken on January 17, 1995 with Hubble's Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2. Separate exposures were taken in different colors of light to study the physical properties of the hot gas (17,000 degrees Fahrenheit, 10,000 degrees Kelvin |
| Date |
01/17/1995 |
| NASA Center |
Hubble Space Telescope Center |
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Giant Star Birth Region in N
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| Title |
Giant Star Birth Region in Neighboring Galaxy |
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Firestorm of Star Birth Seen
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| Title |
Firestorm of Star Birth Seen in a Local Galaxy |
| General Information |
What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ] |
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Firestorm of Star Birth Seen
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| Title |
Firestorm of Star Birth Seen in a Local Galaxy |
| General Information |
What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. Back to top [ #top ] |
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M33: Spiral Galaxy in Triang
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| Title |
M33: Spiral Galaxy in Triangulum |
| Explanation |
The small, northern constellation Triangulum [ http://www.hawastsoc.org/deepsky/tri/index.html ] harbors this magnificent face-on spiral galaxy, M33. Its popular names include the Pinwheel Galaxy or just the Triangulum Galaxy [ http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m033.html ]. M33 is over 50,000 light-years in diameter, third largest in the Local Group [ http://atlasoftheuniverse.com/localgr.html ] of galaxies after the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), and our own Milky Way. About 3 million light-years from the Milky Way, M33 is itself thought to be a satellite of the Andromeda Galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap021021.html ] and astronomers [ http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph?papernum=0506609 ] in these two galaxies would likely have spectacular views of each other's grand spiral star systems. As for the view from planet Earth, this detailed, wide field image [ http://www.tvdavisastropics.com/astroimages-1_00001f.htm ] nicely shows off M33's blue star clusters and pinkish star [ http://www.astropix.com/HTML/SHOW_DIG/031.HTM ] forming regions which trace the galaxy's loosely wound spiral arms. In fact, the cavernous NGC 604 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap021102.html ] is the brightest star forming region, seen here at about the 1 o'clock position from the galaxy center. Like M31, M33's population of well-measured variable stars have helped make this nearby spiral a cosmic yardstick [ http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/~kstanek/DIRECT/ ] for establishing [ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/ bib_query?1926ApJ....63..236H ] the distance scale [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/diamond_jubilee/ debate96.html ] of the Universe. |
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Hydrogen in M33
| Title |
Hydrogen in M33 |
| Explanation |
Gorgeous spiral [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060914.html ] galaxy M33 seems to have more than its fair share of hydrogen. Its inner 30,000 light-years are shown here in [ http://www.schursastrophotography.com/ccdimagepages/ m33ha2.html ] an image processed to fully reveal the reddish glow of ionized hydrogen regions (HII regions [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H_II_region ]) sprawling along loose spiral arms that wind toward the galaxy's core. Historically of [ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/ bib_query?1926ApJ....63..236H ] great interest to astronomers, M33's giant HII regions [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap031209.html ] are some of the largest known stellar nurseries - sites of the formation [ http://dolomiti.pha.jhu.edu/hotstars/m33_multiwave.html ] of short-lived but very massive stars [ http://casswww.ucsd.edu/public/tutorial/StevII.html ]. Intense ultraviolet radiation from the luminous, massive stars ionizes the surrounding hydrogen gas and ultimately produces the characteristic red glow. A prominent member of the local group of galaxies [ http://atlasoftheuniverse.com/localgr.html ], M33 is also known as the Triangulum Galaxy [ http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m033.html ] and lies about 3 million light-years distant. |
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Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy NGC
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| Title |
Dwarf Elliptical Galaxy NGC 205 in the Local Group |
| Explanation |
Our Milky Way Galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/milky_way.html ] is not alone. It is part of a gathering of about 25 galaxies known as the Local Group [ http://www.seds.org/messier/more/local.html ]. Members include the Great Andromeda Galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap991114.html ] (M31), M32 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap991103.html ], M33 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980721.html ], the Large Magellanic Cloud [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000222.html ], the Small Magellanic Cloud [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000430.html ], Dwingeloo 1 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000109.html ], several small irregular galaxies [ http://www.seds.org/messier/irre.html ], and many dwarf elliptical [ http://nedwww.ipac.caltech.edu/level5/Ferguson/frames.html ] and dwarf spheroidal galaxies [ http://www.astro.uu.se/~ns/review.html ]. Pictured [ http://www.cfht.hawaii.edu/Science/Astros/Imageofweek/ciw061299.html ] on the lower left is one of the many dwarf ellipticals [ http://www.astro.psu.edu/users/pdurrell/dE.html ]: NGC 205 [ http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m110.html ]. Like M32 [ http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m032.html ], NGC 205 [ http://nedwww.ipac.caltech.edu/level5/Hodge/Hodge5_5.html ] is a companion to the large M31, and can sometimes be seen to the south of M31 [ http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m031.html ]'s center in photographs. The above image [ http://www.cfht.hawaii.edu/Science/Astros/Imageofweek/ciw061299.html ] shows NGC 205 to be unusual [ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=1998ApJ...499..209W ] for an elliptical galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/elliptical_galaxies.html ] in that it contains at least two dust clouds [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990919.html ] (at 1 and 4 o'clock - they are visible but hard to spot) and signs of recent star formation [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/stellar_nurseries.html ]. This galaxy is sometimes known as M110, although it was actually not part of Messier [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960626.html ]'s original catalog [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/messier.html ]. |
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Just Passing Through
| Title |
Just Passing Through |
| Explanation |
M33 is [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060914.html ] a big, beautiful spiral galaxy a mere 3 million light-years away, understandably a popular target for enthusiastic astro-imagers. Just as understandably, interfering satellite [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030714.html ] trails [ http://faulkes-telescope.com/news/539 ] and airplane streaks that are becoming more common in planet Earth's busy night sky are processed [ http://www.flickr.com/photos/hisglassworks/sets/ 537892/ ] out of their finished images. But Robert Stephan left these streaks in his final picture [ http://www.flickr.com/photos/hisglassworks/sets/485278/ ] of M33, realizing that he had also recorded something relatively rare. His otherwise cosmic skyscape shows the tail of an aircraft passing overhead through his telescope's field of view. A navigational [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Navigation_light#_note-1 ] strobe light [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strobe_light ] on the plane flashed across the tail at exactly the right moment. The brief illumination produced the incongruous, though remarkably sharp image. |
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Elements of Nearby Spiral M3
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| Title |
Elements of Nearby Spiral M33 |
| Explanation |
Spiral galaxy [ http://www.seds.org/messier/spir.html ] M33 is a mid-sized member of our Local Group of Galaxies [ http://www.seds.org/messier/more/local.html ]. M33 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980721.html ] is also called the Triangulum Galaxy [ http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m033.html ] for the constellation [ http://www.astronomical.org/constellations/tri.html ] in which it resides. About four times smaller (in radius) than our Milky Way Galaxy [ http://www.star.le.ac.uk/edu/mway/ ] and the Andromeda Galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap991114.html ] (M31), it is much larger than the many of the local dwarf spheroidal [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap991003.html ] galaxies. M33 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960708.html ]'s proximity to M31 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010917.html ] causes it to be thought by some to be a satellite galaxy of this more massive galaxy. M33 [ http://sirtf.caltech.edu/Education/Messier/m33.html ]'s proximity to our Milky Way Galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/milky_way.html ] causes it to appear more than twice the angular size of the Full Moon [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010218.html ], and be visible with a good pair of binoculars. The above high-resolution image [ http://www.lowell.edu/users/massey/lgsurvey.html ] highlights light emitted by hydrogen [ http://periodic.lanl.gov/elements/1.html ] in red and oxygen [ http://periodic.lanl.gov/elements/8.html ] in blue. It was taken to help separate stars from emission nebulae [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/emission_nebulae.html ], and therefore help study [ http://www.aas.org/publications/baas/v32n4/aas197/743.htm ] how galaxies form stars. |
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A Galaxy is not a Comet
| Title |
A Galaxy is not a Comet |
| Explanation |
This gorgeous galaxy and comet portrait was recorded [ http://www.ekempen.com/en/galerij/astronomie/8P-Tuttle/ 8p-tuttle.html ] on December 30th, in the skies over Hoogeveen, The Netherlands. The combined series of 60 x 60 second exposures finds the lovely green [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050111.html ] coma of Comet 8P/Tuttle [ http://cometography.com/pcomets/008p.html ] near its predicted conjunction with the Triangulum Galaxy [ http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/Messier/m/m033.html ]. Aligning each exposure with the stars shows the comet as a streak, slowly moving against the background stars and galaxy. An alternative composition with exposures centered on the comet, shows the background stars and galaxy as streaks. The alluring celestial scene would also have been a rewarding one for the influential 18th century comet hunter Charles Messier [ http://www.seds.org/messier/xtra/history/ biograph.html ]. While Messier scanned French skies for comets, he carefully cataloged positions of things which were fuzzy and comet-like in appearance but did not move against the background stars and so were definitely not comets. The Triangulum Galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060914.html ], also known as M33, is the 33rd object in his famous not-a-comet catalog [ http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/messier/xtra/history/ m-cat.html ]. The modern [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/diamond_jubilee/ debate20.html ] understanding [ http://www.astr.ua.edu/goodies/data_resources/ galaxies.text ] holds that the Triangulum Galaxy is a large spiral galaxy some 3 million light-years distant. Comet 8P/Tuttle [ http://spaceweather.com/comets/ gallery_tuttle_page4.htm ], just bright enough to be visible to the unaided eye in dark, northern skies [ http://spaceweather.com/images2008/01jan08/ skymap_tuttle_north.gif ], is about 40 million kilometers (2 light-minutes) away. The Amateur Astronomers Association of New York Presents: APOD Editor's Lecture: January 4th [ http://www.aaa.org/ ] - American Museum of Natural History |
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Centaurus A: The Galaxy Deep
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| Title |
Centaurus A: The Galaxy Deep Inside |
| Explanation |
Deep inside Centaurus A [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970330.html ], the closest active galaxy [ http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/introduction/active_galaxies.html ] to Earth, lies ... another galaxy! Cen A is [ http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/pr/1998/14/astrofile.html ] a giant elliptical galaxy a mere 10 million light-years distant with a central jumble [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980522.html ] of stars, dust, and gas that probably hides a massive black hole [ http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/pr/1998/14/pr.html ]. This composite combines an optical picture of Cen A with dark lines tracing lobes of radio emission and an infrared [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980806.html ] image from the ISO satellite [ http://www.iso.vilspa.esa.es/outreach/bck_grnd/iso_fact.htm ] (in red). The ISO data maps out [ http://www.iso.vilspa.esa.es/galleries/nor/cen_a.html ] the dust in what appears to be a barred spiral galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap001004.html ] about the size of the prominent nearby spiral M33 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980721.html ]. The discoverers believe that the giant elliptical's gravity helps this barred spiral galaxy maintain its shape. In turn, material funneled along the spiral's bar fuels the central black hole which powers the elliptical's radio lobes. This apparently intimate association between two distinct and dissimilar galaxies suggests a truly cosmic symbiotic relationship [ http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/astro-ph/9810419 ]. |
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Local Group Galaxy NGC 205
| Title |
Local Group Galaxy NGC 205 |
| Explanation |
The Milky Way Galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950908.html ] is not alone. It is part of a gathering of about 25 galaxies known as the Local Group [ http://www.csc.fi/jpr/galaxy/lbang.html ]. Members include the Great Andromeda Galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950724.html ] (M31), M32 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960106.html ], M33 [ http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/messier/m/m033.html ], the Large Magellanic Clouds [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950918.html ], the Small Magellanic Clouds [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950919.html ], Dwingeloo 1 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap951017.html ], several small irregular galaxies [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950728.html ], and many dwarf elliptical galaxies [ http://www.physics.mcmaster.ca/Grads/PRD2.html ]. Pictured is one of the many dwarf ellipticals: NGC 205. Like M32, NGC 205 is a companion to the large M31, and can sometimes be seen to the south of M31 [ http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/messier/m/m031.html ]'s center in photographs. The above image [ http://crux.astr.ua.edu/gifimages/m110r.html ] shows this galaxy to be unusual for an elliptical galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950913.html ] in that it contains at least two dust clouds [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap951107.html ] (at 7 and 11 o'clock - they are visible but hard to spot) and signs of recent star formation. This galaxy is sometimes known as M110, although it was actually not part of Messier [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/glossary.html#messier ]'s original catalog. |
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A Spiral Galaxy Gallery
| Title |
A Spiral Galaxy Gallery |
| Explanation |
A progression of beautiful spiral galaxies is illustrated above with three photographs from NASA's Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope [ http://fondue.gsfc.nasa.gov/UIT/Astro1/Astro1_pictures.html ] (UIT). Flying above the Earth's obscuring layer of atmosphere on the Space Shuttle Columbia [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950806.html ] during the Astro-1 mission in 1990 [ http://fondue.gsfc.nasa.gov/UIT/UIT_HomePage.html#Astro1 ], UIT's cameras were able to image these distant spirals in the ultraviolet light produced by hot, young stars. These bright stars, newly condensed from gas and dust clouds, give away the location of the spiral arms they are born in. Because they are massive (many times the mass of the Sun), they are shortlived [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap951027.html ]. Dying and fading before they move too far from their birth place they make excellent tracers of spiral structure. From left to right the galaxies are known as M33, M74, and M81 and have progressively more tightly wound spiral arms. Astronomers would classify these [ http://sousun1.phys.soton.ac.uk/PH308/galaxies/classification.html ] as Scd, Sc, and Sb type spirals using a galaxy classification scheme [ http://www-hpcc.astro.washington.edu/k12/hubble/hubble.html ] first worked out by Edwin Hubble [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/diamond_jubilee/ d_1996/sandage_hubble.html ]. |
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NGC 604: Giant Stellar Nurse
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| Title |
NGC 604: Giant Stellar Nursery |
| Explanation |
Scattered within this cavernous nebula [ http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/pr/96/27.html ], cataloged as NGC 604 [ http://www.seds.org/messier/more/m033_n604.html ], are over 200 newly formed hot, massive, stars. At 1,500 light-years across, this expansive cloud of interstellar gas and dust is effectively a giant stellar nursery located some three million light-years distant in the spiral galaxy, M33 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960708.html ]. The newborn stars irradiate the gas with energetic ultraviolet light [ http://trifle.gsfc.nasa.gov/UIT/Astro1/ Astro1_pictures.html ] stripping electrons from atoms and producing a characteristic nebular glow [ http://vis.sdsc.edu/research/hayden2.html ]. The details [ http://adsbit.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/ nph-iarticle_query?1996ApJ%2E%2E%2E456%2E%2E174H ] of the nebula's structure hold clues to the mysteries of star formation and galaxy evolution. |
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Nearby Spiral M33
| Title |
Nearby Spiral M33 |
| Explanation |
Spiral galaxy [ http://www.seds.org/messier/spir.html ] M33 is a mid-sized member of our Local Group of Galaxies [ http://www.seds.org/messier/more/local.html ]. M33 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980721.html ] is also called the Triangulum Galaxy [ http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m033.html ] for the constellation [ http://www.astronomical.org/constellations/tri.html ] in which it resides. About four times smaller (in radius) than our Milky Way Galaxy [ http://www.star.le.ac.uk/edu/mway/ ] and the Andromeda Galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap021021.html ] (M31), it is much larger than the many of the local dwarf spheroidal [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap991003.html ] galaxies. M33 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960708.html ]'s proximity to M31 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010917.html ] causes it to be thought by some to be a satellite galaxy of this more massive galaxy. M33 [ http://sirtf.caltech.edu/Education/Messier/m33.html ]'s proximity to our Milky Way Galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/milky_way.html ] causes it to appear more than twice the angular size of the Full Moon [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010218.html ], and be visible with a good pair of binoculars. The above high-resolution image [ http://www.noao.edu/image_gallery/html/im0775.html ] from the 0.90-m telescope [ http://www.noao.edu/0.9m/manual.html ] at Kitt Peak National Observatory [ http://www.noao.edu/kpno/ ] is a four-color composite. |
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M33: The Triangulum Galaxy
| Title |
M33: The Triangulum Galaxy |
| Explanation |
The spiral galaxy [ http://www.astro.rug.nl/~jansen/www/articles/spectrum/spectrum.html ] M33 [ http://ftp.seds.org/messier/m/m033.html] is a mid-sized member of our Local Group of galaxies [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/local_group.html ]. M33 is also called the Triangulum Galaxy for the constellation [ http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/constellations/Triangulum.html ] in which it resides. About four times smaller (in radius) than our Milky Way Galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960213.html ] and the Andromeda Galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950724.html ] (M31), it is much larger than the many of the local dwarf spheroidal galaxies [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960519.html ]. M33's proximity to M31 causes it to be thought by some to be a satellite galaxy of this more massive galaxy. M33's proximity to our Milky Way galaxy causes it to appear more than twice the angular size of the full moon [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap950821.html ], and visible with a good pair of binoculars [ http://jersey.uoregon.edu/~bdany/optics.html ]. In the above picture [ http://fondue.gsfc.nasa.gov/UIT/Astro1/Astro1_pictures.html ], visible light is shown in red and ultraviolet light superposed in blue [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960409.html ]. Stars in M33 are the most distant ever to be studied spectroscopically [ http://www.aas.org/ApJ/v455n2/5526/sc0.html ]. |
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M81: A Bulging Spiral Galaxy
| Title |
M81: A Bulging Spiral Galaxy |
| Explanation |
Few stars are still forming in the old giant spiral galaxy M81. The blue regions in this picture [ http://fondue.gsfc.nasa.gov/UIT/Astro1/Astro1_pictures.html ] - representing ultraviolet light [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/glossary.html#uv ] - highlight regions of bright young stars and star formation and appear rare than in M74 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960709.html ] and M33 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960710.html ]. The red regions - representing the visible light - show a large population of older, less massive stars. M81 [ http://seds.lpl.arizona.edu/messier/more/m081gr.html ] is therefore classified as spiral galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/spirals.html ] type "Sab" on the Hubble Sequence of Galaxies [ http://dept.physics.upenn.edu/~myers/ASTR001/L36.html#sec.1 ]. One distinguishing feature of these types of galaxies is the relatively large central bulge surrounding the center of the galaxy. A massive density wave [ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?1996AJ%2E%2E%2E%2E111%2E%2E735A&db_key=AST ] circulates around the center of spiral galaxies. It is not well understood why the bulge of M81 [ http://crux.astr.ua.edu/gifimages/m81series.html ] glows as bright as it does in ultraviolet light. Speculation includes that this may be due to hot evolved stars such as those found in the ancient globular cluster Omega Centauri [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960221.html ]. |
|
NGC 604: Giant Stellar Nurse
…
| Title |
NGC 604: Giant Stellar Nursery in M33 |
| Explanation |
The nebula cataloged as NGC 604 is a giant star forming region, 1500 light years across, in the nearby spiral galaxy, M33 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960708.html ]. Seen here in a snapshot [ http://www.stsci.edu/pubinfo/PR/96/27.html ] by the Hubble Space Telescope, over 200 newly formed, hot, massive, stars are scattered within a cavern-like, gaseous, interstellar cloud. The stars irradiate the gas with energetic ultraviolet light [ http://fondue.gsfc.nasa.gov/UIT/Astro1/Astro1_pictures.html ] stripping electrons from atoms and exciting them - producing a characteristic nebular glow [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/emission.html ]. The details [ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/ nph-bib_query?1996ApJ%2E%2E%2E456%2E%2E174H&db_key=AST ] of the nebula's structure hold clues to the mysteries of star formation [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960510.html ] and its effect on the evolution of galaxies [ ftp://crux.astr.ua.edu/web/goodies/data_resources/galaxies.text ]. |
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The Aquarius Dwarf
| Title |
The Aquarius Dwarf |
| Explanation |
Our Milky Way Galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/milky_way.html ] is not alone. It is part of a gathering of about 50 galaxies known as the Local Group [ http://www.seds.org/messier/more/local.html ]. Members include the Great Andromeda Galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap021021.html ] (M31), M32 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap991103.html ], M33 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap021202.html ], the Large Magellanic Cloud [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010804.html ], the Small Magellanic Cloud [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000430.html ], Dwingeloo 1 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000109.html ], several small irregular galaxies [ http://www.seds.org/messier/irre.html ], and many dwarf elliptical [ http://nedwww.ipac.caltech.edu/level5/Ferguson/frames.html ] and dwarf spheroidal galaxies [ http://www.astro.uu.se/~ns/review.html ]. Pictured above is the Aquarius Dwarf [ http://www.seds.org/~spider/spider/LG/aqr_dw.html ], a faint dwarf irregular galaxy over 3 million light years [ http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/cosmic_distance.html ] away. An earlier [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970329.html ] APOD [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960204.html ] erroneously identified [ http://www.solstation.com/x-objects/sag-deg.htm ] the above image as the Sagittarius Dwarf [ http://www.seds.org/messier/more/sagdeg.html ]. |
|
M33: Spiral Galaxy in Triang
…
| Title |
M33: Spiral Galaxy in Triangulum |
| Explanation |
The small constellation Triangulum [ http://www.hawastsoc.org/deepsky/tri/index.html ] in the northern sky harbors this magnificent face-on spiral galaxy, M33. Its popular names include the Pinwheel Galaxy or just the Triangulum Galaxy [ http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m033.html ]. M33's diameter spans over 50,000 light-years, making it third largest in the Local Group [ http://www.anzwers.org/free/universe/localgr.html ] of galaxies after the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), and our own Milky Way. About 3 million light-years from the Milky Way, M33 lies very close to the Andromeda Galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap021021.html ] and observers [ http://www.astr.ua.edu/gifimages/m33.html ] in these two galaxies would likely have spectacular views of each other's grand spiral star systems. As for the view from planet Earth, this sharp 27 frame mosaic [ http://www.robgendlerastropics.com/M33ColorPage.html ] of M33 nicely shows off blue star clusters and pinkish star forming regions which trace the galaxy's loosely wound spiral arms. In fact, the cavernous NGC 604 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap021102.html ] is the brightest star forming region seen here, visible along an arm arcing above and to the right of the galaxy center. Like M31, M33's population of well-measured variable stars have helped make this nearby spiral a cosmic yardstick [ http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/~kstanek/DIRECT/ ] for establishing [ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/ bib_query?1926ApJ....63..236H ] the distance scale [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/diamond_jubilee/ debate96.html ] of the Universe. |
|
NGC 604: Giant Stellar Nurse
…
| Title |
NGC 604: Giant Stellar Nursery |
| Explanation |
Stars are sometimes born in the midst of chaos. About 3 million years ago in the nearby galaxy M33 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030924.html ], a large cloud of gas spawned dense internal knots which gravitationally collapsed to form stars. NGC 604 [ http://www.seds.org/messier/more/m033_n604.html ] was so large, however, it could form enough stars to make a globular cluster [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/globular_clusters.html ]. Many young stars from this cloud are visible [ http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/newsdesk/archive/releases/2003/30/image/ ] in the above image [ http://heritage.stsci.edu/2003/30/caption.html ] from the Hubble Space Telescope [ http://www.stsci.edu/hst/HST_overview/ ], along with what is left of the initial gas cloud [ http://heritage.stsci.edu/2003/30/supplemental.html ]. Some stars were so massive they have already evolved and exploded in a supernova [ http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/snr.html ]. The brightest stars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap021102.html ] that are left emit light so energetic that they create one of the largest cloud of ionized hydrogen [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030410.html ] gas known, comparable to the Tarantula Nebula [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030823.html ] in our Milky Way [ http://www.damtp.cam.ac.uk/user/gr/public/gal_milky.html ]'s close neighbor, the Large Magellanic Cloud [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010804.html ]. |
|
Nearby Spiral M33
| Title |
Nearby Spiral M33 |
| Explanation |
M33 is a prominent nearby spiral galaxy. Nicknamed the Triangulum [ http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/constellations/Triangulum.html ], M33 [ http://ftp.seds.org/messier/m/m033.html ] is one of the larger members of the Local Group of Galaxies [ http://ftp.seds.org/messier/more/local.html ]. Two massive spiral galaxies [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970726.html ] dominate the Local Group: M31 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap971101.html ] and our Milky Way Galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap971229.html ]. M33 is the only other spiral galaxy known in the Local Group. At 3 million light-years, M33 is the second closest spiral galaxy. M33 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960708.html ] is thought by some to be a satellite galaxy to massive M31 [ http://ftp.seds.org/messier/m/m031.html ]. M33 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960816.html ] is close enough to appear twice the angular size of the full moon [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980107.html ], when viewed with binoculars. Globular clusters [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970214.html ] in M33's halo appear unusual [ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=J97-05618&db_key=AST&high=34f6e1de7f02701 ] and might be much younger than globular clusters in our Galaxy's halo [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap971105.html ]. |
|
Nearby Spiral M33
| Title |
Nearby Spiral M33 |
| Explanation |
Spiral galaxy [ http://www.seds.org/messier/spir.html ] M33 is a mid-sized member of our Local Group of Galaxies [ http://www.seds.org/messier/more/local.html ]. M33 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap030924.html ] is also called the Triangulum Galaxy [ http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m033.html ] for the constellation [ http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/extra/constellations.html ] in which it resides. About four times smaller (in radius) than our Milky Way Galaxy [ http://www.star.le.ac.uk/edu/mway/ ] and the Andromeda Galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040718.html ] (M31), it is much larger than the many of the local dwarf spheroidal [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap991003.html ] galaxies. M33 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/apod/apod_search?m33 ]'s proximity to M31 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010917.html ] causes it to be thought by some to be a satellite galaxy of this more massive galaxy. M33 [ http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/cosmic_classroom/multiwavelength_astronomy/multiwavelength_museum/m33.html ]'s proximity to our Milky Way Galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/milky_way.html ] causes it to appear more than twice the angular size of the Full Moon [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040829.html ], and be visible with a good pair of binoculars. |
|
Centaurus A: The Galaxy Deep
…
| Title |
Centaurus A: The Galaxy Deep Inside |
| Explanation |
Deep inside Centaurus A [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970330.html ], the closest active galaxy [ http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/introduction/active_galaxies.html ] to Earth, lies ... another galaxy! Cen A is [ http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/pr/1998/14/astrofile.html ] a giant elliptical galaxy a mere 10 million light-years distant with a central jumble [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980522.html ] of stars, dust, and gas that probably hides a massive black hole [ http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/pr/1998/14/pr.html ]. This composite combines an optical picture of Cen A with dark lines tracing lobes of radio emission and an infrared [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980806.html ] image from the ISO satellite [ http://sapwww.saclay.cea.fr/www/iso/iso.html ] (in red). The ISO data maps out [ http://sapwww.saclay.cea.fr/www/iso/isocam.html ] the dust in what appears to be a barred spiral galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970519.html ] about the size of the prominent nearby spiral M33 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980721.html ]. The discoverers believe that the giant elliptical's gravity helps this barred spiral galaxy maintain its shape. In turn, material funneled along the spiral's bar fuels the central black hole which powers the elliptical's radio lobes. This apparently intimate association between two distinct and dissimilar galaxies suggests a truly cosmic symbiotic relationship [ http://xxx.lanl.gov/abs/astro-ph/9810419 ]. |
|
Where is Upsilon Andromedae?
| Title |
Where is Upsilon Andromedae? |
| Explanation |
Astronomers recently announced [ http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/afoe/upsAnd.html ] the detection of three large planets orbiting [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990416.html ] the star Upsilon Andromedae - the first planetary system known to orbit a normal star [ http://www.astro.psu.edu/users/pspm/arecibo/planets/planets.html ] other than our Sun. These planets were [ http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/afoe/espd.html ] not directly photographed but found through a Doppler technique developed to use large telescopes to search nearby stars [ http://www.sciam.com/explorations/052796explorations.html ] for wobbling planetary signatures. However, Upsilon And itself is visible to the unaided eye shining in Earth's sky in the northern constellation Andromeda [ http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/afoe/And.html ] at about 4th magnitude [ http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/academy/universe/MAG.HTML ]. This deep photographic image [ http://aibn47.astro.uni-bonn.de/~gallery/constellations/ andromeda/constell.html ] shows Upsilon And along with fainter stars and "deep sky" objects including the famous Andromeda spiral galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap971101.html ] or M31 (right), the Triangulum galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980721.html ] or M33 (below), and the star cluster NGC 752 [ http://www.seds.org/messier/xtra/ngc/n0752.html ] (left). About 44 light-years distant, Upsilon And is a star only a little more massive and just slightly hotter than the Sun. |
|
WISE Spies a Galactic Neighb
…
nasa, wisemultimediagallery
This image captured by NASA'
…
508466main_pia13452
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
2011-01-04 |
| creator |
NASA |
| identifier |
508466main_pia13452 |
|
Anatomy of a Triangulum
PIA03033
GALEX Telescope
| Title |
Anatomy of a Triangulum |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
M33, the Triangulum Galaxy, is a perennial favorite of amateur and professional astronomers alike, due to its orientation and relative proximity to us. It is the second nearest spiral galaxy to our Milky Way (after M31, the Andromeda Galaxy) and a prominent member of the "local group" of galaxies. From our Milky Way perspective, M33's stellar disk appears at moderate inclination, allowing us to see its internal structure clearly, whereas M31 is oriented nearly edge-on. The Galaxy Evolution Explorer imaged M33 as it appears in ultraviolet wavelengths. Ultraviolet imaging primarily traces emission from the atmospheres of hot stars, most of which formed in the past few hundred million years. These data provide a reference point as to the internal composition of a typical star-forming galaxy and will help scientists understand the origin of ultraviolet emission in more distant galaxies. These observations of M33 allow astronomers to compare the population of young, massive stars with other components of the galaxy, such as interstellar dust and gas, on the scale of individual giant molecular clouds. The clouds contain the raw material from which stars form. This presents direct insight into the star formation process as it occurs throughout an entire spiral galaxy and constitutes a unique resource for broader studies of galaxy evolution. |
|
Astronaut Gordon Cooper and
…
| Title |
Astronaut Gordon Cooper and technicians watch Atlas 130D hoisted into place |
| Description |
Astronaut L. Gordon Cooper and General Dynamics pad technicians watch Atlas 130D being hoisted into place in the gantry at pad #14, Cape Canaveral, Florida. |
| Date Taken |
1963-03-01 |
|
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