Spiral spins both ways

Esahubble_potw1125a_1024

esahubble_potw1125a June 20th, 2011

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA

In this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image of NGC 7479 created from observations at visible and near-infrared wavelengths the tightly wound arms of the spiral galaxy create an inverted S, as they spin in an anticlockwise direction. However, at radio wavelengths, this galaxy, sometimes nicknamed the Propeller Galaxy, spins the other way, with a jet of radiation that bends in the opposite direction to the stars and dust in the arms of the galaxy. Astronomers think that the radio jet in NGC 7479 was put into its bizarre backwards spin following a merger with another galaxy. Star formation is reignited by galactic collisions, and indeed NGC 7479 is undergoing starburst activity, with many bright, young stars visible in the spiral arms and disc. The three brightest stars in this image, however, are foreground stars caught on camera because they lie between the galaxy and Hubble. This striking galaxy is easily visible in moderate telescopes as an elongated fuzzy patch of light. The spiral arms can be seen with more difficulty in larger telescopes under dark conditions. This picture was created from images taken with the Wide Field Channel of Hubbles Advanced Camera for Surveys. Images through a yellow filter (F555W, coloured blue) were combined with images taken in the near-infrared (F814W, coloured red). The total exposure times were 520 s per filter and the field of view is 2.7 arcminutes across.

Provider: Hubble Space Telescope | ESA

Image Source: https://www.spacetelescope.org/images/potw1125a/

Curator: ESA/Hubble, Garching bei München, Germany

Image Use Policy: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
NGC 7479
Subject - Local Universe
Galaxy > Type > Spiral
Esahubble_potw1125a_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 23h 4m 55.9s
DEC = 12° 19’ 31.8”
Orientation
North is 85.5° CW
Field of View
2.7 x 2.7 arcminutes
Constellation
Pegasus

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Red Hubble (ACS) Infrared (I) -
Green Hubble (ACS) Optical (Pseudogreen (V+I)) -
Blue Hubble (ACS) Optical (V) -
Esahubble_potw1125a_1280
×
ID
potw1125a
Subject Category
C.5.1.1  
Subject Name
NGC 7479
Credits
ESA/Hubble & NASA
Release Date
2011-06-20T10:00:00
Lightyears
Redshift
Reference Url
https://www.spacetelescope.org/images/potw1125a/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Distance Notes
Distance in light years from NED
Facility
Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope
Instrument
ACS, ACS, ACS
Color Assignment
Red, Green, Blue
Band
Infrared, Optical, Optical
Bandpass
I, Pseudogreen (V+I), V
Central Wavelength
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
346.232965947, 12.3255093496
Reference Dimension
3182.0, 3261.0
Reference Pixel
1591.0, 1630.0
Scale
-1.389774922e-05, 1.389774922e-05
Rotation
-85.480000000000189
Coordinate System Projection:
TAN
Quality
Full
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
ESA/Hubble
URL
http://www.spacetelescope.org/
Name
Email
Telephone
Address
Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2
City
Garching bei München
State/Province
Postal Code
D-85748
Country
Germany
Rights
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Publisher
ESA/Hubble
Publisher ID
esahubble
Resource ID
potw1125a
Metadata Date
2011-03-30T14:45:35+02:00
Metadata Version
1.1
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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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