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SDSS J1226+2152 (Hubble)

A largely black image is covered with blue, white, yellow, and orange dots of various sizes throughout. Toward the bottom center, a blue galaxy is highlighted by a small white square, which is enlarged near the top right corner.

This is a Hubble Space Telescope image of galaxy SDSS J1226+2152, which is being magnified and distorted by the immense gravity of a galaxy cluster in front of it. It is one of four distant, star-forming galaxies the TEMPLATES team will study with Webb. The team chose it as an example of a galaxy that is not very dusty.

About the Object

  • R.A. Position
    R.A. PositionRight ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position.
    12:26:51.29
  • Dec. Position
    Dec. PositionDeclination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position.
    +21:52:19.94
  • Constellation
    ConstellationOne of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears.
    Coma Berenices

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 programs 12166 (H. Ebeling)

  • 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.
    March 9, 2011
  • Filters
    FiltersThe camera filters that were used in the science observations.
    F606W, F814W
  • Object Name
    Object NameA name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object.
    SDSS J1226+2152
  • Object Description
    Object DescriptionThe type of astronomical object.
    Lensed Galaxy in Galaxy Cluster
  • Release Date
    August 21, 2019
  • Science Release
    Where Are New Stars Born? NASA’s Webb Telescope Will Investigate
    Read the release
  • Credit
    Image: NASA, ESA, STScI, Harald Ebeling (UH Manoa)

Downloads

  • Full Res (For Print), 2908 × 2374
    tif (15.8 MB)
  • Full Res (For Display), 2908 × 2374
    png (12.55 MB)
  • 2000 × 1632
    png (5.79 MB)
A largely black image is covered with blue, white, yellow, and orange dots of various sizes throughout. Toward the bottom center, a blue galaxy is highlighted by a small white square, which is enlarged near the top right corner.
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/WFC 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: Cyan: F606W Orange: F814W

Compass and Scale
Compass and ScaleAn astronomical image with a scale that shows how large an object is on the sky, a compass that shows how the object is oriented on the sky, and the filters with which the image was made.

Related Images & Videos

Annotated image of galaxy SDSS J1226+2152, which lies toward the center of the image and is enlarged at top right. The galaxy looks like a blue crab. The rest of the field is full of small circular and oval galaxies in various colors, and the background is black.

SDSS J1226+2152 (Hubble Compass Image)

This image of galaxy SDSS J1226+2152, which lies toward the center of the image and is enlarged at top right, was captured by the Hubble Space Telescope’s Advanced Camera for Surveys and shows compass arrows and labels for reference. The north and east compass arrows show the...

Title text, "Gravity – Nature's Magnifying Glass" on a background of galaxies

Gravity – Nature's Magnifying Glass

This video explains how very distant galaxies are magnified through the phenomenon of gravitational lensing. Gravitational lenses can magnify the light from distant galaxies that are at or near the peak of star formation. This effect allows researchers to study the details of...

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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, STScI, Harald Ebeling (UH Manoa)

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