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M31 Halo Radial Velocity
This diagram shows the light from a background quasar passing through the vast, gaseous halo around the neighboring Andromeda galaxy (M31), as spectroscopically measured by the Hubble Space Telescope. The colored regions show absorption from two components that make up the halo. For ionized silicon, a significant absorption is shown in both plots. The more highly ionized carbon is absorbed by only one component. Astronomers can tell the two components apart because their line-of-sight motions, known as radial velocity, cause a Doppler shift that changes the wavelength of light being absorbed.
- Release DateAugust 27, 2020
- Science ReleaseHubble Maps Giant Halo Around Andromeda Galaxy
- Credit
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Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
