Amazing Andromeda Galaxy

Spitzer_sig06-024_1024

spitzer_sig06-024 October 3rd, 2006

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/K. Gordon (Univ. of Arizona) & GALEX Science Team

The many "personalities" of our great galactic neighbor, the Andromeda galaxy, are exposed in this new composite image from NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer and the Spitzer Space Telescope.

The wide, ultraviolet eyes of Galaxy Evolution Explorer reveal Andromeda's "fiery" nature -- hotter regions brimming with young and old stars. In contrast, Spitzer's super-sensitive infrared eyes show Andromeda's relatively "cool" side, which includes embryonic stars hidden in their dusty cocoons.

Galaxy Evolution Explorer detected young, hot, high-mass stars, which are represented in blue, while populations of relatively older stars are shown as green dots. The bright yellow spot at the galaxy's center depicts a particularly dense population of old stars.

Swaths of red in the galaxy's disk indicate areas where Spitzer found cool, dusty regions where stars are forming. These stars are still shrouded by the cosmic clouds of dust and gas that collapsed to form them.Together, Galaxy Evolution Explorer and Spitzer complete the picture of Andromeda's swirling spiral arms. Hints of pinkish purple depict regions where the galaxy's populations of hot, high-mass stars and cooler, dust-enshrouded stars co-exist.

Located 2.5 million light-years away, the Andromeda is our largest nearby galactic neighbor. The galaxy's entire disk spans about 260,000 light-years, which means that a light beam would take 260,000 years to travel from one end of the galaxy to the other. By comparison, our Milky Way galaxy's disk is about 100,000 light-years across.

This image is a false color composite comprised of data from Galaxy Evolution Explorer's far-ultraviolet detector (blue), near-ultraviolet detector (green), and Spitzer's multiband imaging photometer at 24 microns (red).

Provider: Spitzer Space Telescope

Image Source: http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/2216-sig06-024-Amazing-Andromeda-Galaxy

Curator: Spitzer Space Telescope, Pasadena, CA, USA

Image Use Policy: http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/info/18-Image-Use-Policy

Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
Andromeda Galaxy Messier 31 M31 NGC 224
Subject - Local Universe
Galaxy > Type > Spiral

Distance

Universescale2
2,500,000 light years
Spitzer_sig06-024_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 0h 42m 44.9s
DEC = 41° 16’ 20.8”
Orientation
North is 53.0° CCW
Field of View
2.6 x 0.8 degrees
Constellation
Andromeda

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Blue GALEX (FUV) Ultraviolet (Far-UV) 150.0 nm
Green GALEX (NUV) Ultraviolet (Near-UV) 230.0 nm
Red Spitzer (MIPS) Infrared (Mid-IR) 24.0 µm
Spectrum_ir1
Blue
Green
Red
Spitzer_sig06-024_1280
×
ID
sig06-024
Subject Category
C.5.1.1.  
Subject Name
Andromeda Galaxy, Messier 31, M31, NGC 224
Credits
NASA/JPL-Caltech/K. Gordon (Univ. of Arizona) & GALEX Science Team
Release Date
2006-10-03
Lightyears
2,500,000
Redshift
Reference Url
http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/2216-sig06-024-Amazing-Andromeda-Galaxy
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Distance taken from Fast Facts.
Facility
GALEX, GALEX, Spitzer
Instrument
FUV, NUV, MIPS
Color Assignment
Blue, Green, Red
Band
Ultraviolet, Ultraviolet, Infrared
Bandpass
Far-UV, Near-UV, Mid-IR
Central Wavelength
150, 230, 24000
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
10.687168887017261, 41.272439206218152
Reference Dimension
7430.0, 2410.0
Reference Pixel
3715, 1205
Scale
-0.00034621860031235882, 0.00034621860031235882
Rotation
53.0381859266
Coordinate System Projection:
TAN
Quality
Full
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
Spitzer Space Telescope
URL
http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu
Name
Spitzer Space Telescope
Email
Telephone
Address
1200 E. California Blvd.
City
Pasadena
State/Province
CA
Postal Code
91125
Country
USA
Rights
http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/info/18-Image-Use-Policy
Publisher
Spitzer Science Center
Publisher ID
spitzer
Resource ID
sig06-024.tif
Metadata Date
2012-02-07
Metadata Version
1.1
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

×
Universescalefull
2,500,000 light years

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