wise_WISE2011-020h May 25th, 2011
Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA
Sometimes called the Hidden Galaxy, this spiral beauty is shrouded behind our own galaxy, the Milky Way. Stargazers and professional astronomers have a hard time seeing the galaxy through the Milky Way's bright band of stars, dust and gas. WISE's infrared vision cuts through this veil, offering a crisp view. The nucleus is very bright at infrared wavelengths, due to a burst of new stars forming there. The Hidden Galaxy is located about 10 million light-years away in the constellation Camelopardalis, and is 62,000 light-years across.
The colors used in all of these image represent specific wavelengths of infrared light. Blue and cyan represent 3.4- and 4.6-micron light, mainly emitted by hot stars. Green and red represent 12- and 22-micron wavelengths, primarily light emitted from warm dust.
Provider: Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer
Image Source: /image/wise/WISE2011-020h
Curator: Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Berkeley, CA, USA
Image Use Policy: Pulic Domain
Detailed color mapping information coming soon...
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