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Compass and Scale Image of 47 Tucanae

Side-by-side comparison of 47 Tucanae as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope with compass arrows, scale bar, color keys, and graphic overlays. The image on the left is titled “47 Tuc, NGC 104, Hubble Space Telescope, Visible.” The image on the right is titled “47 Tuc, NGC 104, Hubble Space Telescope, Ultraviolet.”

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    00h 24m 5.35s
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    -72° 4' 53.17"
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Tucana
  • 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.
    16,700 light-years (5,100 parsecs)

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 optical/UV image of 47 Tuc was created from Hubble data from proposal 10048, PI: J. Mack and R. Gillian (STScI) and 12311, PI: G. Piotto (University of Padova, Italy) et al. The UV image of 47 Tuc was created from Hubble data from proposal 12971: H. Richer (University of British Columbia), A. Dotter (Australian National University), R. Goldsbury (University of British Columbia), B. Hansen (UCLA), J. Heyl (University of British Columbia), J. Kalirai (STScI/JHU), K. Woodley (University of British Columbia), and K. Sigurdson (University of California, Santa Cruz). The science team includes: J. Heyl and H. Richer (University of British Columbia), E. Antolini (Università degli Studi di Perugia, Italy), R. Goldsbury (University of British Columbia), J. Kalirai (STScI/JHU), J. Parada (University of British Columbia), and P.-E. Tremblay (STScI).
  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    HST>ACS/WFC and HST>WFC3/UVIS
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    November 2003 - September 2004, November 2010, and November 2012 - September 2013
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    Left Panel: ACS/WFC: F475W (B), F606W (V), F814W (I) WFC3: F275W (UV) Right Panel: WFC3: F225W (UV) and F336W (U)
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    47 Tuc, 47 Tucanae, NGC 104
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Globular Cluster
  • Release Date
    May 14, 2015
  • Science Release
    Hubble Catches a Stellar Exodus in Action
    Read the release
  • Credits
    NASA, ESA, and H. Richer and J. Heyl (University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada); Acknowledgment: J. Mack (STScI) and G. Piotto (University of Padova, Italy)

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Side-by-side comparison of 47 Tucanae as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope with compass arrows, scale bar, color keys, and graphic overlays. The image on the left is titled “47 Tuc, NGC 104, Hubble Space Telescope, Visible.” The image on the right is titled “47 Tuc, NGC 104, Hubble Space Telescope, Ultraviolet.”
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 acquired by the ACS/WFC instrument. Several filters were used to sample various wavelengths. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. This image is a composite of separate exposures acquired by the ACS/WFC and WFC3 instruments. In this case, the assigned colors are: Left Panel: Blue: F475W (B) Green: F606W (V) Red: F814W (I) Purple: F275W (UV) Right Panel: Cyan: F225W (UV) Yellow: F336W (U)

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
Feb 17, 2025
Contact
Media

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

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