Barred Galaxy (NGC 253) in Multiple Wavelengths

  • Released Monday, August 6, 2018
  • Updated Wednesday, August 8, 2018 at 10:10AM
  • ID: 30980

In NGC 253, the visible-light view is complicated by the viewing angle, dark dust clouds, and scatterings of massive stars. Switching to the near-infrared lets us see the full population of stars more clearly, revealing a bar running through the center of the galaxy. Including mid-infrared also brings out the dust lanes clearly, and even highlights the areas where stars are forming vigorously, particularly in the galaxy's center.

Optical: Dust and bright stars confuse the view in visible light.
Near-Infrared: Dust lanes along the spiral arms glow in the mid-infrared.
Mid-Infrared: The base population of stars reveal the spiral arms and central bar.
No description available.

ESO optical image of the NGC 253

Dust and bright stars confuse the view in visible light.

No description available.

Spitzer Near-Infrared image of the NGC 253

The base population of stars reveal the spiral arms and central bar.

No description available.

WISE image of the NGC 253

Dust lanes along the spiral arms glow in the mid-infrared.



Credits

Please give credit for this item to:

Video: NASA, ESA, and G. Bacon (STScI)
Image Credits:

  • Optical: ESO
  • Near-infrared: NASA, JPL-Caltech, UCLA
  • Mid-infrared: NASA, JPL-Caltech, UCLA


Missions

This visualization is related to the following missions:

Datasets used in this visualization

Spitzer Space Telescope
NASA JPL/Cal Tech
European Southern Observatory (ESO)
Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer WISE
Observed Data

Note: While we identify the data sets used in these visualizations, we do not store any further details nor the data sets themselves on our site.



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