Detection of Hot Halo Gets Theory Out of Hot Water

Chandra_315_1024

chandra_315 February 3rd, 2006

Credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/U. Copenhagen/K.Pedersen et al; Optical: Palomar DSS

Chandra's observation of the hot halo (blue) surrounding the optical disk (white) of NGC 5746 should help astronomers better understand how galaxies form. Spiral galaxies are thought to form from enormous clouds of intergalactic gas that collapse to form spinning disks of stars and gas. The Chandra data and computer simulations show that the likely origin of NGC 5746's hot halo is the gradual inflow of intergalactic matter left over from the formation of the galaxy. Hot gas flowing outward has been observed in galaxies with vigorous star formation, but this is the first detection of a hot halo around a quiescent spiral galaxy. This discovery was welcome news to astronomers because it showed that inflowing hot halos predicted by computer models in fact exist.

Provider: Chandra X-ray Observatory

Image Source: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2006/n5746/

Curator: Chandra X-ray Observatory, Cambridge, MA, USA

Image Use Policy: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/image_use.html

Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
NGC 5746
Subject - Local Universe
Galaxy > Type > Spiral
Galaxy > Component > Disk

Distance

Universescale3
100,000,000 light years
Chandra_315_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 14h 44m 56.0s
DEC = 1° 57’ 16.9”
Orientation
North is 89.9° CCW
Field of View
13.5 x 13.5 arcminutes
Constellation
Virgo

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Red DSS (DSS2IR) Optical (IR-band) 798.0 nm
Green DSS (DSS2R) Optical (R-band) 660.0 nm
Blue DSS (DSS2B) Optical (B-band) 443.0 nm
Blue Chandra (ACIS) X-ray (X-ray) 826.7 pm
Spectrum_xray1
Red
Green
Blue
Blue
Chandra_315_1280
×
ID
315
Subject Category
C.5.1.1.   C.5.4.3.  
Subject Name
NGC 5746
Credits
X-ray: NASA/CXC/U. Copenhagen/K.Pedersen et al; Optical: Palomar DSS
Release Date
2006-02-03
Lightyears
100,000,000
Redshift
100,000,000
Reference Url
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2006/n5746/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Facility
DSS, DSS, DSS, Chandra
Instrument
DSS2IR, DSS2R, DSS2B, ACIS
Color Assignment
Red, Green, Blue, Blue
Band
Optical, Optical, Optical, X-ray
Bandpass
IR-band, R-band, B-band, X-ray
Central Wavelength
798, 660, 443, 0.8267
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
-, -, -, 3929
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
2000.0
Reference Value
221.23327800000, 1.95469200000
Reference Dimension
2400.00, 2400.00
Reference Pixel
1207.95394554503, 1197.60342884305
Scale
-0.00009347136, 0.00009347136
Rotation
89.91582784802
Coordinate System Projection:
TAN
Quality
Full
FITS Header
Notes
World Coordinate System resolved using PinpointWCS 0.9.0 revision 213+ by the Chandra X-ray Center
Creator (Curator)
Chandra X-ray Observatory
URL
http://chandra.si.edu
Name
Chandra X-ray Observatory Center
Email
cxcpub@cfa.harvard.edu
Telephone
617.496.7941
Address
60 Garden St.
City
Cambridge
State/Province
MA
Postal Code
02138
Country
USA
Rights
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/image_use.html
Publisher
Chandra X-ray Observatory Center
Publisher ID
chandra
Resource ID
n5746.tif
Metadata Date
2024-02-02T16:38:11-05:00
Metadata Version
1.0
×

 

Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

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Universescalefull
100,000,000 light years

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