The superwind galaxy NGC 4666

This visible light image, made with the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at the La Silla Observatory in Chile, shows the galaxy NGC 4666 in the centre. It is a starburst galaxy, about 80 million light-years from Earth, in which particularly intense star formation is taking place. The starburst is thought to be caused by gravitational interactions with neighbouring galaxies, including NGC 4668, visible to the lower left. A combination of supernova explosions and strong winds from massive stars in the starburst region drives a vast outflow of gas from the galaxy into space — a so-called “superwind”. NGC 4666 had previously been observed in X-rays by the ESA XMM-Newton space telescope, and these visible light observations were made to target background objects detected in the earlier X-ray images.

This picture, which covers a field of 16 by 12 arcminutes, is a combination of twelve CCD frames, 67 megapixels each, taken through blue, green and red filters.

Crédit:

ESO/J. Dietrich

À propos de l'image

Identification:eso1036a
Type:Observation
Date de publication:1 septembre 2010 12:00
Communiqués de presse en rapport:eso1036
Taille:3946 x 3168 px

À propos de l'objet

Nom:NGC 4666
Type:Local Universe : Galaxy : Activity : Starburst
Distance:80 million années lumière
Constellation:Virgo
Catégorie:Galaxies

Image Formats

Grand JPEG
4,7 Mio
JPEG taille écran
130,7 Kio

Zoomable


Fonds d'écran

1024x768
159,3 Kio
1280x1024
263,0 Kio
1600x1200
404,9 Kio
1920x1200
534,1 Kio
2048x1536
757,1 Kio

Coordinates

Position (RA):12 45 8.68
Position (Dec):0° 27' 43.36"
Field of view:15.64 x 12.55 arcminutes
Orientation:North is 0.0° right of vertical

Couleurs & filtres

DomaineLongueur d'ondeTélescope
Visible
B
451 nmMPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope
WFI
Visible
V
539 nmMPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope
WFI
Visible
R
651 nmMPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope
WFI