This image of the spiral galaxy Messier 101 (M101) is a composite of
data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, the Hubble Space
Telescope, and the Spitzer Space Telescope. The colors correspond to
the following wavelengths: The X-rays detected by Chandra are colored
blue. Sources of X-rays include million-degree gas, the debris from
exploded stars, and material zooming around black holes and neutron
stars. The red color shows Spitzer's view in infrared light. It
highlights the heat emitted by dust lanes in the galaxy where stars
can form. Finally, the yellow coloring is visible light data from
Hubble. Most of this light comes from stars, and they trace the same
spiral structure as the dust lanes.
M101 is a face-on spiral galaxy about 22 million light years away in
the constellation Ursa Major. It is similar to the Milky Way galaxy in
many ways, but is larger. The new "Great Observatories" composite
image of M101 was distributed to over 100 planetariums, museums,
nature centers, and schools across the country in conjunction with
Galileo's birthday on February 15. The year 2009 marks the 400th
anniversary of Galileo's telescope and has been designated the
International Year of Astronomy to celebrate this historic anniversary.
Fast Facts for M101: |
Credit |
X-ray: NASA/CXC/JHU/K.Kuntz et al.; Optical: NASA/ESA/STScI/JHU/K. Kuntz et al; IR: NASA/JPL-Caltech/STScI/K. Gordon |
Release Date |
February 10, 2009 |
Scale |
Image is 18 arcmin (114,000 light years) across |
Category |
Normal Galaxies & Starburst Galaxies |
Coordinates (J2000) |
RA 14h 03m 13s | Dec +54° 20´ 53" |
Constellation |
Ursa Major |
Observation Date |
03/26/2000 - 01/01/2005 with 26 pointings
|
Observation Time |
274 hours |
Obs. ID |
934, 2065, 4731-4737, 5296-5297, 5300, 5309, 5322-5323, 5337-5340, 6114-6115, 6118, 6152, 6169-6170, 6175
|
Instrument |
ACIS
|
Also Known As | NGC 5457, The Pinwheel Galaxy |
Color Code |
X-ray: Blue; Optical: Yellow; Infrared: Red |
Distance Estimate |
21 million light years |
|
Wonderful
Posted by Susan on Monday, 03.3.14 @ 22:19pm