1 min read

HDUV GOODS-South Field

More than 15,000 galaxies appear across this view.

A Multi-Wavelength Sea of Galaxies

This sea of approximately 15,000 galaxies — about 12,000 of which are forming stars — is one of the most comprehensive portraits yet of the universe’s evolutionary history. The ultraviolet vision from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, combined with infrared and visible-light data from Hubble and other space and ground-based telescopes, opens a new window on the evolving universe. It tracks the birth of stars over the last 11 billion years back to the cosmos’ busiest star-forming period, which happened about 3 billion years after the big bang. Ultraviolet light has been the missing piece to the cosmic puzzle. Because Earth’s atmosphere filters most ultraviolet light, Hubble can provide some of the most sensitive space-based ultraviolet observations possible.

This image straddles the gap between the very distant galaxies, which can only be viewed in infrared light due to the expansion of the universe, and closer galaxies, which can be seen across a broad spectrum. By comparing images of star formation in the distant and nearby universe, astronomers gain a better understanding of how nearby galaxies grew.

The program, called the Hubble Deep UV (HDUV) Legacy Survey, extends and builds on the previous Hubble multi-wavelength data in the CANDELS-Deep (Cosmic Assembly Near-infrared Deep Extragalactic Legacy Survey) fields within the central part of the GOODS (The Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey) fields. This mosaic is 14 times the area of the Hubble Ultraviolet Ultra Deep Field released in 2014.

This image is a portion of the GOODS-South field, which is located in the southern constellation Fornax.

About the Object

R.A. Position
R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
03:32:24.59
Dec. Position
Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
-27:47:28.99
Constellation
ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
Fornax

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.
The HST observations include those from programs 12444, 12445 (S. Faber), and 13872 (P. Oesch)
Instrument
InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
ACS/WFC, WFC3/UVIS, WFC3/IR
Exposure Dates
Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
Sep 2012 - Aug 2013, and Nov 2014 - Nov 2015
Filters
FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
WFC3/UVIS F275W, F336W, ACS/WFC F435W, F606W, F775W, F850LP, WFC3/IR F125W, F160W

Object Name
Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
HDUV GOODS South
Object Description
Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
Deep field image
Release Date
August 16, 2018
Science Release
Hubble Paints Picture of the Evolving Universe
Read the release
Credit
NASA, ESA, P. Oesch (University of Geneva), and M. Montes (University of New South Wales)

Downloads

Full Res, 5324 × 5250
tif (61.01 MB)
1000 × 986
png (1.49 MB)
2000 × 1972
png (6.32 MB)
Full Res, 5324 × 5250
png (47.83 MB)

These images are a composite of separate exposures acquired by the ACS and WFC3 instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope. Several filters were used to sample narrow wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are: Blue: F275W, F336W, F435W, F606W Green: F775W, F850LP Red: F125W, F160W

Related Images & Videos

HDUV GOODS-North Field

Astronomers using the ultraviolet vision of NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope have captured one of the largest panoramic views of the fire and fury of star birth in the distant universe. The field features approximately 15,000 galaxies, about 12,000 of which are forming stars....

HDUV GOODS-North Field Compass Image