A dwarf in the Fornax cluster

Eso_potw1008a_1024

eso_potw1008a February 22nd, 2010

Credit: ESO

In this dazzling image, the galaxy NGC 1427A is seen as it travels through the Fornax cluster of galaxies, to which it belongs. NGC 1427A is an example of a dwarf irregular galaxy, a type of galaxy that is significantly less bright than regular galaxies and characterised by a peculiar shape. In this particular case, the shape of the galaxy has been forged by its rapid, upwards motion through the cluster: with a speed of two million kilometres per hour relative to the cluster, NCG 1427A is being torn apart and will eventually be disrupted. The interaction with the Fornax cluster has led to the birth of many stars, seen here as a boomerang-shaped region of young, glowing stars in the galaxy. NGC 1427A exhibits a striking resemblance to one of our galactic neighbours, the Large Magellanic Cloud, which has undergone similar episodes of star formation, triggered by its interaction with the Milky Way. This image has been obtained using the FORS instrument mounted on one of the 8.2-metre telescopes of ESO’s Very Large Telescope on top of Cerro Paranal, Chile. It combines data acquired through four broadband filters (U, B, V, I) and a narrowband one (H-alpha).  North is on the left and West is up. The field of view is 7 arcminutes.

Provider: European Southern Observatory

Image Source: https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw1008a/

Curator: European Southern Observatory, Garching bei München, Germany

Image Use Policy: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
NGC 1427A
Subject - Local Universe
Galaxy > Type > Irregular
Galaxy > Size > Dwarf
Eso_potw1008a_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 3h 40m 9.4s
DEC = -35° 37’ 28.0”
Orientation
North is 89.9° CCW
Field of View
6.4 x 6.5 arcminutes
Constellation
Eridanus

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Orange VLT (FORS1) Infrared (I) -
Magenta VLT (FORS1) Ultraviolet (U) -
Red VLT (FORS1) Optical (H-alpha) -
Blue VLT (FORS1) Optical (B) -
Green VLT (FORS1) Optical (V) -
Eso_potw1008a_1280
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ID
potw1008a
Subject Category
C.5.1.6   C.5.2.2  
Subject Name
NGC 1427A
Credits
ESO
Release Date
2010-02-22T10:00:00
Lightyears
Redshift
Reference Url
https://www.eso.org/public/images/potw1008a/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Distance Notes
Distance in light years from Simbad.
Facility
Very Large Telescope, Very Large Telescope, Very Large Telescope, Very Large Telescope, Very Large Telescope
Instrument
FORS1, FORS1, FORS1, FORS1, FORS1
Color Assignment
Orange, Magenta, Red, Blue, Green
Band
Infrared, Ultraviolet, Optical, Optical, Optical
Bandpass
I, U, H-alpha, B, V
Central Wavelength
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
55.038998, -35.624436
Reference Dimension
1927.0, 1935.0
Reference Pixel
1117.82339227, 1001.00688058
Scale
-5.57347e-05, 5.57347e-05
Rotation
89.89033295817
Coordinate System Projection:
TAN
Quality
Full
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
European Southern Observatory
URL
http://www.eso.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
European Southern Observatory
Publisher ID
eso
Resource ID
potw1008a
Metadata Date
2023-10-11T09:25:55.117335
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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