The distant galaxy K20-ID5

This galaxy is located more than 10.5 billion light years away, at which distance high spatial resolution is needed to trace the different locations of the stars and gas. This near infrared image taken with NACO shows that the stars in this galaxy lie within a quite compact region. In contrast, the gas, which was observed with SINFONI, is very extended. This is not always the case: in another galaxy at a similar redshift, NACO and SINFONI observations (see ESO Press Release eso0631) show that the gas and stars lie in the same large disc. Observations like these are both remarkable and exciting. They yield important insights into the evolution of massive galaxies at early cosmological epochs, allowing us to distinguish between outflowing gas, rotating disk galaxies, and chaotic galaxy mergers.

Credit:

ESO

About the Image

Id:eso0727d
Type:Observation
Release date:13 June 2007
Related releases:eso0727
Size:2400 x 2396 px

About the Object

Name:K20-ID5
Type:Early Universe : Galaxy
Distance:z=2.2 (redshift)
Category:Galaxies

Image Formats

Large JPEG
563.3 KB
Screensize JPEG
155.8 KB

Wallpapers

1024x768
164.0 KB
1280x1024
237.7 KB
1600x1200
311.5 KB
1920x1200
341.2 KB
2048x1536
442.9 KB

Colours & filters

BandTelescope
Infrared
Near-IR
Very Large Telescope
SINFONI
Infrared
Near-IR
Very Large Telescope
NACO