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Hubble NICMOS Infrared Image of M51
About the Object
- R.A. PositionR.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.13h 29m 55.73s
- Dec. PositionDec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.47° 13' 53.43"
- ConstellationConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.Canes Venatici
- 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.About 31 million light-years (9.6 million parsecs)
- DimensionsDimensionsThe physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.This image is 3 arcminutes (20,000 light-years or 6,000 parsecs) wide.
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 Hubble optical image was created from HST data from proposal 10452 : S. Beckwith (STScI), R. Kennicutt, Jr. (University of Cambridge), and H. Bond, C. Christian, L. Frattare, F. Hamilton, Z. Levay, M. Mutchler, K. Noll, and T. Royle (Hubble Heritage Team, STScI/AURA). NICMOS observations were made with the HST proposal 10501: R. Chandar (University of Toledo), D. Calzetti (University of Massachusetts), R. Kennicutt, Jr. (University of Cambridge), M. Regan and B. Whitmore (STScI), and E. Schinnerer (Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Heidelberg).
- InstrumentInstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.HST>NICMOS and HST>ACS/WFC
- Exposure DatesExposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.November 28 - December 2, 2005, Exposure Time: 9 hours
- FiltersFiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.F160W (J)
- Object NameObject NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.M51, Whirlpool Galaxy
- Object DescriptionObject DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.Face-on Spiral Galaxy
- Release DateJanuary 13, 2011
- Science ReleaseThe Two-faced Whirlpool Galaxy
- Credit
This image, which was obtained by aligning data from both the NICMOS and ACS detectors and dividing the NICMOS brightness values by the ACS values, was originally black and white. These brightness values were translated into a range of reddish hues. Such color "maps" can be useful in helping to distinguish subtly varying brightness in an image.
Related Images & Videos
The Two-faced Whirlpool Galaxy
These images by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope show off two dramatically different face-on views of the spiral galaxy M51, dubbed the Whirlpool Galaxy. The image at left, taken in visible light, highlights the attributes of a typical spiral galaxy, including graceful, curving...
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Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
