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Infrared Image of Galaxy Pair NGC 4302 and NGC 4298

Infrared Image of Galaxy Pair NGC 4302 and NGC 4298
This is an infrared image of the galaxy pair NGC 4302 and NGC 4298 taken with Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3. The infrared light pierces through the dust lanes and shows significantly more stars than seen in visible light. In the infrared, the edge-on NGC 4302 is brighter than in the visible view. The tilted galaxy NGC 4298's spiral arms aren't as obvious in infrared, because the infrared light glows through the dust that marks the arms in visible light. This image represents the sort of view the James Webb Space Telescope will have when it is launched in late 2018. Webb's infrared vision will slice through dust to see the stars embedded in it.

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    12h 21m 42.08s
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    14° 37' 13.16"
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Coma Berenices
  • 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.
    55 million light-years (17 megaparsecs)

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.
    These datasets are from the HST proposal 14913, M. Mutchler, J. Green, Z. Levay, D. Smith, and R. Villard (STScI), and image processing by I. Momcheva and J. DePasquale (STScI).
  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    HST>WFC3/IR
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    January 2017; Exposure time: 4,236 sec
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    F140W and F160W
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    NGC 4298, NGC 4302
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Interacting Galaxies, Spiral Galaxies
  • Release Date
    April 20, 2017
  • Science Release
    A New Angle on Two Spiral Galaxies for Hubble’s 27th Birthday
    Read the release
  • Credit
    NASA, ESA, and M. Mutchler (STScI)

Downloads

  • Full Res, 2635 × 3052
    tif (9.12 MB)
  • 400 × 400
    png (270.87 KB)
  • 1727 × 2000
    png (4.73 MB)
  • Full Res, 2635 × 3052
    png (10.09 MB)
Infrared Image of Galaxy Pair NGC 4302 and NGC 4298
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 separate exposures made by the WFC3 instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope using two different cameras and filters isolating the broad wavelength ranges. The color arises by assigning different hues (colors), to each monochromatic image. In this case, the colors are: Cyan: F125W Orange: F160W

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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Details

Last Updated
Mar 12, 2025
Contact
Media

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

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