The Stellar Forge

Esahubble_potw2049a_1024

esahubble_potw2049a December 7th, 2020

Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. LeeAcknowledgement: Leo Shatz

An orange glow radiates from the centre of NGC 1792, the heart of this stellar forge. Captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, this intimate view of NGC 1792 gives us some insight into this galactic powerhouse. The vast swathes of tell-tale blue seen throughout the galaxy indicate areas that are full of young, hot stars, and it is in the shades of orange, seen nearer the centre, that the older, cooler stars reside. Nestled in the constellation of Columba (The Dove), NGC 1792 is both a spiral galaxy, and a starburst galaxy. Within starburst galaxies, stars are forming at comparatively exorbitant rates. The rate of star formation can be more than 10 times faster in a starburst galaxy than in the Milky Way. When galaxies have a large resevoir of gas, like NGC 1792, these short lived starburst phases can be sparked by galactic events such as mergers and tidal interactions. One might think that these starburst galaxies would easily consume all of their gas in a large forming event. However, supernova explosions and intense stellar winds produced in these powerful starbursts can inject energy into the gas and disperse it. This halts the star formation before it can completely deplete the galaxy of all its fuel. Scientists are actively working to understand this complex interplay between the dynamics that drive and quench these fierce bursts of star formation.

Provider: Hubble Space Telescope | ESA

Image Source: https://esahubble.org/images/potw2049a/

Curator: ESA/Hubble, Baltimore, MD, United States

Image Use Policy: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
NGC 1792
Subject - Local Universe
Galaxy > Type > Spiral
Galaxy > Activity > Starburst
Esahubble_potw2049a_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 5h 5m 14.0s
DEC = -37° 58’ 48.8”
Orientation
North is 208.9° CW
Field of View
2.7 x 2.5 arcminutes
Constellation
Columba

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Red Hubble (WFC3) Optical (I) 814.0 nm
Green Hubble (WFC3) Optical (V) 555.0 nm
Cyan Hubble (WFC3) Optical (B) 438.0 nm
Blue Hubble (WFC3) Optical (U) 336.0 nm
Purple Hubble (WFC3) Ultraviolet (UV) 275.0 nm
Spectrum_base
Red
Green
Cyan
Blue
Purple
Esahubble_potw2049a_1280
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ID
potw2049a
Subject Category
C.5.1.1   C.5.3.3  
Subject Name
NGC 1792
Credits
ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. LeeAcknowledgement: Leo Shatz
Release Date
2020-12-07T06:00:00
Lightyears
Redshift
Reference Url
https://esahubble.org/images/potw2049a/
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Distance Notes
Facility
Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope, Hubble Space Telescope
Instrument
WFC3, WFC3, WFC3, WFC3, WFC3
Color Assignment
Red, Green, Cyan, Blue, Purple
Band
Optical, Optical, Optical, Optical, Ultraviolet
Bandpass
I, V, B, U, UV
Central Wavelength
814, 555, 438, 336, 275
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
None, None, None, None, None
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
76.3082669089, -37.9802159732
Reference Dimension
4040.0, 3802.0
Reference Pixel
2020.0, 1901.0
Scale
-1.10055742728e-05, 1.10055742728e-05
Rotation
-208.88000000000034
Coordinate System Projection:
TAN
Quality
Full
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
ESA/Hubble
URL
https://esahubble.org
Name
Leo Shatz
Email
Telephone
Address
ESA Office, Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Dr
City
Baltimore
State/Province
MD
Postal Code
21218
Country
United States
Rights
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
Publisher
ESA/Hubble
Publisher ID
esahubble
Resource ID
potw2049a
Metadata Date
2021-09-06T16:29:07.217559
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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