The Tinker Bell triplet
Using ESO's Very Large Telescope, an international team of astronomers has discovered a stunning rare case of a triple merger of galaxies. This system, which astronomers have dubbed 'The Bird' - although it also bears resemblance with a cosmic Tinker Bell - is composed of two massive spiral galaxies and a third irregular galaxy.
In this image, a 30-min VLT/NACO K-band exposure has been combined with archive HST/ACS B and I-band images to produce a three-colour image of the 'Bird' interacting galaxy system. The NACO image has allowed astronomers to not only see the two previously known galaxies, but to identify a third, clearly separate component, an irregular, yet fairly massive galaxy that seems to form stars at a frantic rate.
Mynd/Myndskeið:ESO
Um myndina
Auðkenni: | eso0755a |
Tegund: | Athuganir |
Útgáfudagur: | 21. desember 2007 |
Tengdar fréttatilkynningar: | eso0755 |
Stærð: | 1246 x 1139 px |
Um fyrirbærið
Nafn: | ESO 593-IG 008, The Bird |
Tegund: | Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Interacting |
Fjarlægð: | 650 milljón ljósár |
Constellation: | Sagittarius |
Flokkur: | Galaxies |
Mounted Image
Bakgrunnsmynd
Hnit
Position (RA): | 19 14 31.08 |
Position (Dec): | -21° 19' 9.36" |
Field of view: | 0.60 x 0.55 arcminutes |
Stefna: | Norður er 0.2° vinstri frá lóðréttu |
Litir og síur
Tíðnisvið | Sjónauki |
---|---|
Innrautt K | Very Large Telescope NACO |
Sýnilegt B | Hubble Space Telescope ACS |
Innrautt I | Hubble Space Telescope ACS |