Visible in the constellation of Andromeda, NGC 891 is located approximately 30 million light-years away from Earth. The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope turned its powerful wide field Advanced Camera for Surveys towards this spiral galaxy and took this close-up of its northern half. The galaxy's central bulge is just out of the image on the bottom left.
The galaxy, spanning some 100,000 light-years, is seen exactly edge-on, and reveals its thick plane of dust and interstellar gas. While initially thought to look like our own Milky Way if seen from the side, more detailed surveys revealed the existence of filaments of dust and gas escaping the plane of the galaxy into the halo over hundreds of light-years. They can be clearly seen here against the bright background of the galaxy halo, expanding into space from the disk of the galaxy.
Astronomers believe these filaments to be the result of the ejection of material due to supernovae or intense stellar formation activity. By lighting up when they are born, or exploding when they die, stars cause powerful winds that can blow dust and gas over hundreds of light-years in space.
A few foreground stars from the Milky Way shine brightly in the image, while distant elliptical galaxies can be seen in the lower right of the image.
NGC 891 is part of a small group of galaxies bound together by gravity.
A version of this image was entered into the Hubble’s Hidden Treasures Image Processing Competition by contestant Nick Rose. Hidden Treasures is an initiative to invite astronomy enthusiasts to search the Hubble archive for stunning images that have never been seen by the general public.
Hubble Spies Edge-on Beauty
Visible in the constellation of Andromeda, NGC 891 is located approximately 30 million light-years away from Earth. The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope turned its powerful wide field Advanced Camera for Surveys towards this spiral galaxy and took this close-up of its northern half. The galaxy's central bulge is just out of the image on the bottom left.
Source:
nasa
Read count:
7700
Previous page
Back to top
Other news
- A dense quark liquid is distinct from a dense nucleon liquid (09/01/2024)
- Research aims to convert greenhouse gas into valuable products with electricity (09/01/2024)
- Research team combines two catalysts to make common chemical production safer, more environmentally friendly (09/01/2024)
- Researchers demonstrate that quantum entanglement and topology are inextricably linked (09/01/2024)
- Diabetes and weight-loss drugs—Ozempic and Wegovy—not associated with increased suicidal thoughts, finds study (05/01/2024)
- Researchers develop all-optical switches that could lead to faster computer processors (02/01/2024)
- Chemical synthesis using titanium dioxide: An eco-friendly and innovative approach (02/01/2024)
- An advanced computational tool for understanding quantum materials (25/12/2023)
- High-sensitivity visualization of ultrafast carrier diffusion by wide-field holographic microscopy (23/12/2023)
- Controlling thermoelectric conversion in magnetic materials by magnetization direction (23/12/2023)