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Compass and Sacle File for Detailed Images of M82

Compass and Sacle File for Detailed Images of M82
Location key to detailed images of the Hubble M82 image superimposed onto full image. The details are of the disk, nucleus, and a hydrogen plume.

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    09h 55m 52.0s
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    69° 40' 48.99"
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Ursa Major
  • Distance
    DistanceThe physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs.
    12 million light-years (3.7 Megaparsecs)
  • Dimensions
    DimensionsThe physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.
    This image is roughly 7.9 arcminutes (28,000 light-years or 8,500 parsecs) wide.

About the Data

  • Data Description
    Data DescriptionProposal: A description of the observations, their scientific justification, and the links to the data available in the science archive.
    Science Team: The astronomers who planned the observations and analyzed the data. "PI" refers to the Principal Investigator.
    This image was created from HST data from proposal 10776 M. Mountain (STScI), J. Gallagher (University of Wisconsin-Madison), P. Puxley (NSF), K. Noll, H. Bond, C. Christian, L. Frattare, F. Hamilton, Z. Levay, M. Mutchler, W. Januszewski, and T. Royle (Hubble Heritage Team/STScI/AURA). Note: Announcement page with release information on High Level Science Products for M82 (combined and mosaiced fits files for each filter) is available at the MAST Archive
  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    HST>ACS/WFC
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    March 27-29, 2006, Exposure Time: 13.7 hours
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    F435W (B), F555W (V), F658N (H alpha), and F814W (I)
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    M82, NGC 3034
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Starburst Galaxy
  • Release Date
    April 24, 2006
  • Science Release
    Happy Sweet Sixteen, Hubble Telescope!
    Read the release
  • Credit
    NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

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Compass and Sacle File for Detailed Images of M82
Color Info
Color InfoA brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.

This image is a composite of many separate exposures made by the ACS instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope using several different filters. Three filters sample broad wavelength ranges, one isolates the light of hydrogen. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic image. In this case, the assigned colors are: Blue: F435W (B) Green: F555W (V) Red-orange: F658N (H alpha) Red: F814W (I)

Compass and Scale
Compass and ScaleAn astronomical image with a scale that shows how large an object is on the sky, a compass that shows how the object is oriented on the sky, and the filters with which the image was made.

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Last Updated
Mar 28, 2025
Contact
Media

Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov

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