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Compass and Scale Image of Hanny’s Voorwerp

Compass and Scale Image of Hanny's Voorwerp

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    09h 41m 3.79s
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    34° 43' 34.2"
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Leo Minor
  • 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.
    65 million light-years (20 million parsecs)
  • Dimensions
    DimensionsThe physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.
    This image is 90 arcseconds (150,000 light-years or 46,000 parsecs) wide.

About the Data

  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    HST>ACS/WFC, HST>WFC3/UVIS, and HST>WFC3/IR
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    April 4 and 12, 2010
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    HST: FR505N ([O III]), FR716N (Redshifted H-alpha), F814W (I), and F160W (H) WIYN (B)
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    Hanny's Voorwerp, IC 2497
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Emission Nebula
  • Release Date
    January 10, 2011
  • Science Release
    Hubble Zooms in on a Space Oddity
    Read the release
  • Credit
    Illustration: NASA, ESA, and Z. Levay (STScI); Science: NASA, ESA, W. Keel (University of Alabama), and the Galaxy Zoo Team

Downloads

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  • 285 × 400
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  • 713 × 1000
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Compass and Scale Image of Hanny's Voorwerp
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 WFC3 and ACS instruments on HST. Several filters were used to sample broad and 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: Dark green: F160W (H) Dark red: F814W F814W (I) Red: FR716N (Redshifted H-alpha) Green: FR505N ([O III]) Blue: WIYN (B)

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 28, 2025
Contact
Media

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

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