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Galaxy LEDA 1313424 (Compass Image)
This image of collisional ring galaxy LEDA 1313424, nicknamed the Bullseye, was captured by the Hubble Space Telescope’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS).
The image shows a scale bar, compass arrows, and color key for reference.
The scale bar is labeled in light-years along the top, which is the distance that light travels in one Earth-year. (It takes three years for light to travel a distance equal to the length of the scale bar.) One light-year is equal to about 5.88 trillion miles or 9.46 trillion kilometers.
The scale bar is also labeled in arcminutes, which is a measure of angular distance on the sky. One arcsecond is equal an angular measurement of 1/3600 of one degree. There are 60 arcminutes in a degree and 60 arcseconds in an arcminute. (The full Moon has an angular diameter of about 30 arcminutes.) The actual size of an object that covers one arcsecond on the sky depends on its distance from the telescope.
The north and east compass arrows show the orientation of the image on the sky. Note that the relationship between north and east on the sky (as seen from below) is flipped relative to direction arrows on a map of the ground (as seen from above).
This image shows visible wavelengths of light that have been translated into visible-light colors. The color key shows which WFPC2 and MIRI filters were used when collecting the light. The color of each filter name is the visible-light color used to represent the infrared light that passes through that filter.
About the Object
- R.A. PositionR.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.00:09:39.357
- Dec. PositionDec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.+07:04:49.275
- ConstellationConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.Pisces
- DistanceDistanceThe 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.567 million light-years
- DimensionsDimensionsThe physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.Image is about 3.2 arcmin across (about 530,000 light-years)
About the Data
- Data DescriptionData 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 image was created from Hubble data from proposal 17508 (I. Pasha)
- InstrumentInstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.ACS/WFC
- Exposure DatesExposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.10 January 2024
- FiltersFiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.F475W, F814W
- Object NameObject NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.LEDA 1313424
- Object DescriptionObject DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.Collisional ring galaxy
- Release DateFebruary 4, 2025
- Science ReleaseStraight Shot: Hubble Investigates Galaxy with Nine Rings
- CreditNASA, ESA, Imad Pasha (Yale), Pieter van Dokkum (Yale)
These images were acquired by the ACS instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to a monochromatic (grayscale) image. In this case, the assigned colors are: Cyan: F475W, Orange: F814W
Related Images & Videos
Galaxy LEDA 1313424 (Advanced Camera for Surveys Image)
LEDA 1313424, aptly nicknamed the Bullseye, is two and a half times the size of our Milky Way and has nine rings — six more than any other known galaxy. High-resolution imagery from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope confirmed eight rings, and data from the W. M. Keck Observatory in...
Milky Way Compared to Galaxy LEDA 1313424 (Artist’s Concept)
This illustration compares the size of our own Milky Way galaxy to gargantuan galaxy LEDA 1313424, nicknamed the Bullseye. The Milky Way is about 100,000 light-years in diameter, and the Bullseye is almost two-and-a-half times larger, at 250,000 light-years across.
Diagram of Rings in the Bullseye (Artist’s Concept)
This illustration shows the massive galaxy nicknamed the Bullseye face-on. Dotted circles indicate where each of its rings are, which formed like ripples in a pond after a blue dwarf galaxy (not shown) shot through its core about 50 million years ago. NASA’s Hubble Space...
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Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
NASA, ESA, Imad Pasha (Yale), Pieter van Dokkum (Yale)
