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Compass and Scale Image of NGC 6503

Compass and Scale Image of NGC 6503

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    17h 49m 26.42s
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    70° 8' 39.73"
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Draco
  • 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.
    18 million light-years (5.5 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.
    The optical/UV image of NGC 6503 was created from Hubble data from proposals 13364, PI: D. Calzetti (University of Massachusetts, Amherst), et al. and 9293, PI: H. Ford (JHU) et al.
  • 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.
    April 21, 2003 and August 21, 2013
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    F658N (H-alpha+[N II]), F275W (UV), F336W (U), F438W (B), F555W (V), and F814W (I)
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    NGC 6503
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Spiral Galaxy with Active Star Formation
  • Release Date
    June 10, 2015
  • Science Release
    Lonely Galaxy ‘Lost in Space’
    Read the release
  • Credits
    NASA, ESA, and Z. Levay (STScI); Acknowledgment: D. Calzetti (University of Massachusetts, Amherst), H. Ford (JHU), and the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration

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Compass and Scale Image of NGC 6503
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 and WFC3/UVIS instruments. 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. In this case, the assigned colors are: Pink: F275W (UV) Purple: F336W (U) Blue: F438W (B) Green: F555W (V) Red: F814W (I) Red: F658N (H-alpha+[N II])

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.

Related Images & Videos

Spiral Galaxy NGC 6503

Spiral Galaxy NGC 6503

Most galaxies are clumped together in groups or clusters. A neighboring galaxy is never far away. But this galaxy, known as NGC 6503, has found itself in a lonely position, at the edge of a strangely empty patch of space called the Local Void. The Local Void is a huge stretch of...

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Details

Last Updated
Feb 17, 2025
Contact
Media

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

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