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Hubble Interacting Galaxy NGC 5331

Hubble Interacting Galaxy NGC 5331

NGC 5331 is a pair of interacting galaxies beginning to hold their arms . There is a blue trail which appears in the image flowing to the right of the system. NGC 5331 is very bright in the infrared, with about a hundred billion times the luminosity of the Sun. It is located in the constellation Virgo, the Maiden, about 450 million light-years away from Earth.

This image is part of a large collection of 59 images of merging galaxies taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and released on the occasion of its 18th anniversary on 24th April 2008.

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    13h 52m 16.39s
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    02° 6' 15.0"
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Virgo
  • 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.
    450 million light-years (150 million parsecs)
  • Dimensions
    DimensionsThe physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.
    December 22, 2001, Exposure Time: 33 minutes

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.
    HST Proposal: 10592 A. Evans (University of Virginia, Charlottesville/NRAO/Stony Brook University)
  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    HST>ACS/WFC
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    F435W (B) and F814W (I)
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    NGC 5331, VV 253, KPG 401
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Interacting Galaxies
  • Release Date
    April 24, 2008
  • Science Release
    Cosmic Collisions Galore!
  • Credits
    NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration, and A. Evans (University of Virginia, Charlottesville/NRAO/Stony Brook University)

Downloads

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Details

Last Updated
Mar 14, 2025
Contact
Media

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