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Hubble Studies Compact Galaxies Loaded with Stars
These images taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope show nine compact, ultradense galaxies as they appeared 11 billion years ago.
The galaxies are only 5,000 light-years across and yet are 200 billion times more massive than the Sun. They are a fraction of the size of today's grownup galaxies but contain the same number of stars. Each galaxy could fit inside the central hub of our Milky Way Galaxy.
Hubble's Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer snapped these images between June 2006 and June 2007.
About the Object
- 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.Roughly 11 billion light-years or 3 billion parsecs
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.HST Proposal: 10808 P. van Dokkum, R. Quadri, and D. Marchesini (Yale University), S. Toft (Yale University/ESO), M. Kriek (Princeton University), M. Franx (Leiden University, The Netherlands), G. Illingworth (University of California, Santa Cruz, and Lick Observatory), and G. Rudnick (NOAO/AURA). - InstrumentInstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.HST>NICMOS
- Exposure DatesExposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.June 2006 - June 2007, Exposure Time: 23 hours
- FiltersFiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.F160W (H-band)
- Object NameObject NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.[Top row, left to right] SDSS1030-1813, SDSS1030-2559, 1256-0 [Middle row, left to right] 1256-1967, 1256-142, ECDFS-5856 [Bottom row, left to right] ECDFS-11490, HDFS1-1849, HDFS2-2046
- Object DescriptionObject DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.Distant Galaxies
- Release DateApril 29, 2008
- Science ReleaseCompact Galaxies in Early Universe Pack a Big Punch
- Credits
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Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
