Wide-field view of the Meathook galaxy

This picture of the Meathook Galaxy (NGC 2442) was taken by the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope at La Silla, Chile. It shows a much broader view than the Hubble image, although less detailed. This view includes the whole galaxy and the surrounding sky, and clearly shows the asymmetric spiral arms. The longer of the two arms has intense star formation, which is visible here as a pink glow: this is due to the radiation of young stars ionising the gas they form from. The asymmetric shape and star formation are both thought to be caused by tidal disruptions from a near-miss with another galaxy at some point in its history.

Crédit:

ESO

À propos de l'image

Identification:eso1115a
Type:Observation
Date de publication:4 mai 2011 12:00
Communiqués de presse en rapport:eso1115
Taille:6756 x 5687 px

À propos de l'objet

Nom:NGC 2442
Type:Local Universe : Galaxy
Distance:55 million années lumière
Constellation:Volans
Catégorie:Galaxies

Image Formats

Grand JPEG
10,6 Mio
JPEG taille écran
215,0 Kio

Zoomable


Fonds d'écran

1024x768
218,9 Kio
1280x1024
324,2 Kio
1600x1200
432,7 Kio
1920x1200
498,9 Kio
2048x1536
662,3 Kio

Coordinates

Position (RA):7 36 8.18
Position (Dec):-69° 32' 32.06"
Field of view:26.81 x 22.55 arcminutes
Orientation:North is 181.6° left of vertical