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Hubble Ultra Deep Field Infrared View of Galaxies Billions of Light-Years Away
This infrared view reveals galaxies far, far away that existed long, long ago. Taken by the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-object Spectrometer aboard NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, the image is part of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field survey, the deepest portrait ever taken of the universe. This galaxy-studded view represents a "deep" core sample of the universe, cutting across billions of light-years.
This infrared image offers a slightly farther look into the universe's past, compared with the snapshot of the same field taken in visible light by Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys. Astronomers used Hubble's near-infrared camera to find very distant galaxies that cannot be seen in visible light. The light from remote galaxies has been stretched from visible to invisible infrared wavelengths by the expansion of space. Some light also has been absorbed by intergalactic hydrogen.
Astronomers are hoping to strike it rich by finding some of the farthest known galaxies, existing perhaps 400 million years after the big bang. To find them, astronomers must combine the infrared and visible-light images. The remotest galaxies will only appear in the infrared image. If discovered, these record-breaking galaxies may offer clues to the emergence of galaxies when the universe was only 2 to 5 percent of its present age.
The Ultra Deep Field observations represent a narrow, deep view of the cosmos. Peering into the Ultra Deep Field is like looking through an eight-foot-long soda straw.
In ground-based photographs, the patch of sky in which the galaxies reside (just one-tenth the diameter of the full Moon) is largely empty. Located in the constellation Fornax, the region is so empty that only a handful of stars within the Milky Way galaxy can be seen in the image.
This composite image was assembled from exposures taken by the near-infrared camera and the advanced camera. Astronomers incorporated the advanced camera's visible-light observations into the image to better discriminate the colors of the distant galaxies. The near-infrared camera observations were taken from Sept. 3 to Nov. 27, 2003.
About the Object
- R.A. PositionR.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.03h 37m 39.99s
- Dec. PositionDec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.-27° 47' 9.99"
- ConstellationConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.Fornax
- DimensionsDimensionsThe physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky.The image is 3 arc minutes square
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.This image was created from HST data from the following proposal: 9803: R. Thompson (U. Arizona), G. Illingworth and R. Bouwens (UCSC), M. Dickinson (STScI), D. Eisenstein and X. Fan (U. Arizona), M. Franx (U. Leiden), M. Rieke (U. of Arizona) , A. Riess (STScI) , P. van Dokkum (Yale U.). - 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.September 3, 2003 to November 27, 2003; Exposure Time: 4.5 days
- FiltersFiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.F110W (1.1 microns) and F160W (1.6 microns)
- Object NameObject NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.Hubble Ultra Deep Field, HUDF
- Object DescriptionObject DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.Infrared Survey
- Release DateMarch 9, 2004
- Science ReleaseHubble’s Deepest View Ever of the Universe Unveils Earliest Galaxies
- Credit
Blue: ACS F775W (i) Green: F110W (J) Red: F160W (H)
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Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
