A mysterious hermit

Esahubble_potw1623a_1024

esahubble_potw1623a June 6th, 2016

Credit: NASA & ESA

The drizzle of stars scattered across this image forms a galaxy known as UGC 4879. UGC 4879 is an irregular dwarf galaxy as the name suggests, galaxies of this type are a little smaller and messier than their cosmic cousins, lacking the majestic swirl of aspiral or the coherence of anelliptical. This galaxy is also very isolated. There are about 2.3 million light years between UGC 4879 and its closest neighbour, Leo A, which is about the same distance as that between the Andromeda Galaxy and the Milky Way. This galaxys isolation means that it has not interacted with any surrounding galaxies, making it an ideal laboratory for studying star formation uncomplicated by interactions with other galaxies. Studies of UGC 4879 have revealed a significant amount of star formation in the first 4-billion-years after the Big Bang, followed by a strange nine-billion-year lull in star formation, ended 1-billion-years ago by a more recent reignition. The reason for this behaviour, however, remains mysterious, and the solitary galaxy continues to provide ample study material for astronomers looking to understand the complex mysteries of starbirth throughout the Universe.

Provider: Hubble Space Telescope | ESA

Image Source: https://www.spacetelescope.org/images/potw1623a/

Curator: ESA/Hubble, Garching bei München, Germany

Image Use Policy: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
UGC 4879
Subject - Local Universe
Galaxy > Type > Irregular
Galaxy > Size > Dwarf
Esahubble_potw1623a_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 9h 16m 1.4s
DEC = 52° 50’ 54.4”
Orientation
North is 156.6° CW
Field of View
3.3 x 2.5 arcminutes
Constellation
Ursa Major

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Blue Hubble (ACS) Optical 606.0 nm
Green Hubble (ACS) Optical 606.0 nm
Green Hubble (ACS) Optical 814.0 nm
Red Hubble (ACS) Optical 814.0 nm
Spectrum_base
Blue
Green
Green
Red
Esahubble_potw1623a_1280
×
ID
potw1623a
Subject Category
C.5.1.6   C.5.2.2  
Subject Name
UGC 4879
Credits
NASA & ESA
Release Date
2016-06-06T06:00:00
Lightyears
Redshift
Reference Url
https://www.spacetelescope.org/images/potw1623a/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Distance Notes
Facility
Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope
Instrument
ACS, ACS, ACS, ACS
Color Assignment
Blue, Green, Green, Red
Band
Optical, Optical, Optical, Optical
Bandpass
Central Wavelength
606, 606, 814, 814
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
139.00597828, 52.8484489247
Reference Dimension
3986.0, 2964.0
Reference Pixel
1993.0, 1482.0
Scale
-1.38918997921e-05, 1.38918997921e-05
Rotation
-156.56000000000009
Coordinate System Projection:
TAN
Quality
Full
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
ESA/Hubble
URL
http://www.spacetelescope.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
ESA/Hubble
Publisher ID
esahubble
Resource ID
potw1623a
Metadata Date
2016-03-10T17:42:15+01:00
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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