Spiral galaxy NGC 1232

This spectacular image of the large spiral galaxy NGC 1232 was obtained on September 21, 1998, during a period of good observing conditions. It is based on three exposures in ultra-violet, blue and red light, respectively. The colours of the different regions are well visible : the central areas contain older stars of reddish colour, while the spiral arms are populated by young, blue stars and many star-forming regions. Note the distorted companion galaxy on the left side, shaped like the greek letter "theta".

NGC 1232 is located 20º south of the celestial equator, in the constellation Eridanus (The River). The distance is about 60 million light-years, but the excellent optical quality of the VLT and FORS allows us to see an incredible wealth of details. At the indicated distance, the edge of the field shown corresponds to about 200,000 light-years, or about twice the size of the Milky Way galaxy.

The image is a composite of three images taken behind three different filters: U (360 nm; 10 min), B (420 nm; 6 min) and R (600 nm; 2:30 min) during a period of 0.7 arcsec seeing. The field shown measures 6.8 x 6.8 arcmin. North is up; East is to the left.

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Om bilden

ID:eso9845d
Typ:Observation
Publiceringsdatum:23 september 1998
Relaterade pressmeddelanden:eso9845
Storlek:10027 x 10105 px

Om objektet

Namn:NGC 1232
Typ:Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Spiral
Avstånd:60 miljon ljusår
Constellation:Eridanus
Kategori:Galaxies

Bildformat

Stor jpeg
21,2 MB
Skärmstor jpeg
319,0 kB

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2048x1536
1,0 MB

Koordinater

Position (RA):3 9 45.54
Position (Dec):-20° 34' 46.50"
Field of view:6.78 x 6.83 arcminutes
Orientering:Nord är 0.1° vänster om lodrätt

Färger och filter

BandVåglängdTeleskop
Synligt ljus
B
420 nmVery Large Telescope
FORS1
Ultraviolett
U
360 nmVery Large Telescope
FORS1
Synligt ljus
R
600 nmVery Large Telescope
FORS1