X-rays Reveal Nature of Spiral Galaxys Boisterous Activity

Chandra_71_1024

chandra_71 January 22nd, 2003

Credit: NASA/CXC/U.Leicester/U.London/R.Soria & K.Wu

Chandra's image of M83 shows numerous point-like neutron star and black hole X-ray sources scattered throughout the disk of the galaxy. The bright nuclear region glows prominently due to a cloud of hot gas and a high concentration of neutron stars and black holes that were created during a burst of star formation that is estimated to have begun about 20 million years ago in the galaxy's time frame.

Provider: Chandra X-ray Observatory

Image Source: http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2003/1154/

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

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

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Image Details Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
M83 • NGC 5236
Subject - Local Universe
Galaxy > Type > Spiral

Distance Details Distance

Chandra_71_128
 

Position Details Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 13h 36m 59.1s
DEC = -29° 51’ 46.2”
Orientation
North is 0.1° CCW
Field of View
10.3 x 8.9 arcminutes
Constellation
Hydra

Color Mapping Details Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Red Chandra (ACIS) X-ray (Soft X-ray) 1.90961538461539 nm
Green Chandra (ACIS) X-ray (Medium X-ray) 827.5 pm
Blue Chandra (ACIS) X-ray (Hard X-ray) 248.3 pm
Spectrum_xray1
Red
Green
Blue
Chandra_71_1280
×
ID
71
Subject Category
C.5.1.1  
Subject Name
M83, NGC 5236
Credits
NASA/CXC/U.Leicester/U.London/R.Soria & K.Wu
Release Date
2003-01-22
Lightyears
1.2e7
Redshift
0.001723
Reference Url
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2003/1154/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Facility
Chandra, Chandra, Chandra
Instrument
ACIS, ACIS, ACIS
Color Assignment
Red, Green, Blue
Band
X-ray, X-ray, X-ray
Bandpass
Soft X-ray, Medium X-ray, Hard X-ray
Central Wavelength
1.90961538461539, 0.8275, 0.24825
Start Time
2000-04-29T13:54:43, 2000-04-29T13:54:43, 2000-04-29T13:54:43
Integration Time
51630, 51630, 51630
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
204.2462280, -29.8628314
Reference Dimension
1800.0, 1559.0
Reference Pixel
901.0, 780.5
Scale
9.55387e-05, 9.5538663e-05
Rotation
0.07
Coordinate System Projection:
TAN
Quality
Full
FITS Header
Notes
WCS retrieved using CXCs PinpointWCS
Creator (Curator)
Chandra X-ray Observatory
URL
http://chandra.harvard.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
1154_xray.tif
Resource URL
http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/2003/1154/1154_xray.tif
Related Resources
Metadata Date
2012-08-13T21:59:29-04:00
Metadata Version
1.2
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

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There is no distance meta data in this image.

 

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