Splinter or Knife Edge Galaxy, or NGC 5907

Wise_wise2011-020g_1024

wise_WISE2011-020g May 25th, 2011

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA

This galaxy's face is angled about 90 degrees from our view, so it appears edge-on and thin as a splinter, or knife. It was discovered by the astronomer William Herschel in 1788. There is a large complex of stellar streams surrounding the galaxy, which can't be seen in the WISE image. These are the torn-up shreds of smaller galaxies that were consumed. The faint green hue seen in the WISE composite is due to the "halo" of old stars that encircles the central region of the galaxy. The Splinter Galaxy is about 53 million light-years away in the constellation Draco, and is nearly 200,000 light-years across.

Provider: Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer

Image Source: /image/wise/WISE2011-020g

Curator: Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Berkeley, CA, USA

Image Use Policy: Pulic Domain

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  • Full Size Image (2618 x 2618)

Image Details Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
NGC 5907 • Splinter Galaxy • Knife Edge Galaxy
Subject - Local Universe
Galaxy > Type > Spiral

Distance Details Distance

Universescale2
50,000,000 light years
Wise_wise2011-020g_128
 

Position Details Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 15h 15m 53.8s
DEC = 56° 19’ 44.0”
Orientation
North is up
Field of View
30.0 x 30.0 arcminutes
Constellation
Draco

Color Mapping Details Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Blue WISE Infrared (Near-IR) 3.4 µm
Cyan WISE Infrared (Near-IR) 4.6 µm
Green WISE Infrared (Mid-IR) 12.0 µm
Red WISE Infrared (Mid-IR) 22.0 µm
Spectrum_ir1
Blue
Cyan
Green
Red
Wise_wise2011-020g_1280
×
ID
WISE2011-020g
Subject Category
C.5.1.1.  
Subject Name
NGC 5907, Splinter Galaxy, Knife Edge Galaxy
Credits
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA
Release Date
2011-05-25
Lightyears
50,000,000
Redshift
0.002225
Reference Url
/image/wise/WISE2011-020g
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Facility
WISE, WISE, WISE, WISE
Instrument
Color Assignment
Blue, Cyan, Green, Red
Band
Infrared, Infrared, Infrared, Infrared
Bandpass
Near-IR, Near-IR, Mid-IR, Mid-IR
Central Wavelength
3400, 4600, 12000, 22000
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
2000
Reference Value
228.974167, 56.328889
Reference Dimension
2618, 2618
Reference Pixel
1309.5, 1309.5
Scale
-1.90972219570500e-04, 1.90972219570500e-04
Rotation
0
Coordinate System Projection:
SIN
Quality
Full
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer
URL
http://wise.astro.ucla.edu
Name
Email
outreach@ssl.berkeley.edu
Telephone
Address
7 Gauss Way
City
Berkeley
State/Province
CA
Postal Code
94720
Country
USA
Rights
Pulic Domain
Publisher
Publisher ID
wise
Resource ID
Resource URL
/image/wise/WISE2011-020g
Related Resources
Metadata Date
2018-01-11T02:51:48Z
Metadata Version
1.2
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

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Universescalefull
50,000,000 light years

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