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NGC 3256 (Hubble)

NGC 3256, a pair of interacting galaxies with a large egg-like shape. Brown-red dust is mixed throughout the center, and two uneven light-blue “arms” extend down from the middle.

Although the two galaxies in NGC 3256 appear merged when viewed in visible light, a second, bright nucleus is found hiding among the tangle of dust lanes in the central region. By using a range of telescopes on the ground and in space, the Great Observatories All-sky LIRG Survey (GOALS) research team has been analyzing galaxies like NGC 3256 from X-ray through radio wavelengths. NGC 3256 has a buried active nucleus, large-scale shocks from two powerful outflows, and a huge number of compact, bright star clusters.

Upcoming research with the James Webb Space Telescope will help researchers learn more about the outflows, which will allow them to better model the hot and cold gas, and determine what implications that has for how and where stars form in rapidly evolving galaxies.

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    10h 27m 51.57s
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    -43° 54' 13.39"
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Vela
  • 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.
    100 million light-years (50 million parsecs)

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.
    The HST observations include those from the Program 10592 (A. Evans).
  • Instrument
    InstrumentThe science instrument used to produce the data.
    ACS/WFC
  • Exposure Dates
    Exposure DatesThe date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time.
    November 5, 2001, Exposure Time: 35 minutes
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    F435W, F814W
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    NGC 3256, VV 065, AM 1025-433
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Interacting Galaxies
  • Release Date
    September 23, 2020
  • Science Release
    NASA’s Webb Will Explore the Cores of Merging Galaxies
    Read the release
  • Credit
    Image: NASA, ESA, Hubble Heritage–ESA/Hubble Collaboration, Aaron Evans (UVA, NRAO, State University of New York at Stony Brook)

Downloads

  • Full Res (For Print), 3640 × 3640
    tif (28.6 MB)
  • Full Res (For Display), 3640 × 3640
    png (22.36 MB)
  • 2000 × 2000
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NGC 3256, a pair of interacting galaxies with a large egg-like shape. Brown-red dust is mixed throughout the center, and two uneven light-blue “arms” extend down from the middle.
Color Info
Color InfoA brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented.

These images are a composite of separate exposures acquired by the ACS instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope. Several filters were used to sample narrow wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are: Blue: F435W Red: F814W

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Details

Last Updated
Aug 28, 2025
Contact
Media

Laura Betz
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
laura.e.betz@nasa.gov

Image Credit

NASA, ESA, Hubble Heritage?ESA/Hubble Collaboration, Aaron Evans (UVA, NRAO, State University of New York at Stony Brook)

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