Maffei 2: The Hidden Galaxy

Spitzer_sig10-025_1024

spitzer_sig10-025 December 23rd, 2010

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/J. Turner (UCLA)

Maffei 2 is the poster child for an infrared galaxy that is almost invisible to optical telescopes. Foreground dust clouds in the Milky Way block about 99.5% of its visible light, but this infrared image from NASAs Spitzer Space Telescope penetrates this dust to reveal the galaxy in all its glory.

The astronomer Paolo Maffei first noted this as a mysterious smudge on a near infrared photographic plate in 1968. Four years later he identified the strange object to be a galaxy, now named after him. This discovery was made in the infancy of infrared astronomy and it would take many technological innovations in the following decades to allow astronomers to study obscured objects like this one in detail.

Most other galaxies the size of Maffei 2 had been cataloged for over a century. Had it not been hidden behind dust lanes in our own galaxy it may well have been one of the entries in the famous 18th century catalog of bright deep sky objects compiled by Charles Messier.

This Spitzer image clearly shows the unusual structure of Maffei 2. The strong central bar and asymmetric spiral arms help identify why the galaxy also harbors a starburst in its very core. Such dramatic bursts of star formation occur when massive amounts of dust and gas are driven into the center of a galaxy, often by gravitational interactions that create barred spiral structures in its disk.

Provider: Spitzer Space Telescope

Image Source: http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/3463-sig10-025-Maffei-2-The-Hidden-Galaxy

Curator: Spitzer Space Telescope, Pasadena, CA, USA

Image Use Policy: Public Domain

Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
Maffei 2
Subject - Local Universe
Galaxy > Type > Spiral
Galaxy > Type > Barred
Galaxy > Activity > Starburst

Distance

Universescale2
10,900,000 light years
Spitzer_sig10-025_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 2h 41m 55.4s
DEC = 59° 35’ 56.5”
Orientation
North is 8.0° CCW
Field of View
12.2 x 12.2 arcminutes
Constellation
Cassiopeia

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Blue Spitzer (IRAC) Infrared (Near-IR) 3.6 µm
Green Spitzer (IRAC) Infrared (Near-IR) 4.5 µm
Red Spitzer (IRAC) Infrared (Mid-IR) 5.8 µm
Red Spitzer (IRAC) Infrared (Mid-IR) 8.0 µm
The contribution from starlight has been subtracted from the 5.8 and 8.0 micron channels to enhance the visibility of dust features.
Spectrum_base
Blue
Green
Red
Red
Spitzer_sig10-025_1280
×
ID
sig10-025
Subject Category
C.5.1.1.   C.5.1.2.   C.5.3.3.  
Subject Name
Maffei 2
Credits
NASA/JPL-Caltech/J. Turner (UCLA)
Release Date
2010-12-23
Lightyears
10,900,000
Redshift
10,900,000
Reference Url
http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/3463-sig10-025-Maffei-2-The-Hidden-Galaxy
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Facility
Spitzer, Spitzer, Spitzer, Spitzer
Instrument
IRAC, IRAC, IRAC, IRAC
Color Assignment
Blue, Green, Red, Red
Band
Infrared, Infrared, Infrared, Infrared
Bandpass
Near-IR, Near-IR, Mid-IR, Mid-IR
Central Wavelength
3600, 4500, 5800, 8000
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
T
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
40.480903014166337, 59.599026179609311
Reference Dimension
1200.0, 1200.0
Reference Pixel
600, 600
Scale
-0.00016961709689819571, 0.00016961709689819571
Rotation
7.9527038094
Coordinate System Projection:
TAN
Quality
Full
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
Spitzer Space Telescope
URL
http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu
Name
Email
Telephone
Address
1200 E. California Blvd.
City
Pasadena
State/Province
CA
Postal Code
91125
Country
USA
Rights
Public Domain
Publisher
Spitzer Science Center
Publisher ID
spitzer
Resource ID
sig10-025.tif
Metadata Date
2011-09-01
Metadata Version
1.2
×

 

Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

×
Universescalefull
10,900,000 light years

Providers | Sign In