NGC 4725

Spitzer_sig05-011_1024

spitzer_sig05-011 August 25th, 2005

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Kennicutt (University of Arizona) and the SINGS Team

On August 25, 2003, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope blasted into the same dark skies it now better understands. In just two years, the observatory's infrared eyes have uncovered a hidden universe teeming with warm stellar embryos, chaotic planet-forming disks, and majestic galaxies, including the delightfully odd galaxy called NGC 4725 shown here.

This peculiar galaxy is thought to have only one spiral arm. Most spiral galaxies have two or more arms. Astronomers refer to NGC 4725 as a ringed barred spiral galaxy because a prominent ring of stars encircles a bar of stars at its center (the bar is seen here as a horizontal ridge with faint red features). Our own Milky Way galaxy sports multiple arms and a proportionally smaller bar and ring.

In this infrared Spitzer picture, the galaxy's arm is highlighted in red, while its center and outlying halo are blue. Red represents warm dust clouds illuminated by newborn stars, while blue indicates older, cooler stellar populations. The red spokes seen projecting outward from the arm are clumps of stellar matter that may have been pushed together by instable magnetic fields.

NGC 4725 is located 41 million light-years away in the constellation Coma Berenices.

This picture is composed of four images taken by Spitzer's infrared array camera at 3.6 (blue), 4.5 (green), 5.8 (red), and 8.0 (red) microns. The contribution from starlight (measured at 3.6 microns) has been subtracted from the 5.8- and 8-micron images to enhance the visibility of the dust features.

Provider: Spitzer Space Telescope

Image Source: http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/2355-sig05-011-NGC-4725

Curator: Spitzer Space Telescope, Pasadena, CA, USA

Image Use Policy: http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/info/18-Image-Use-Policy

Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
NGC 4725
Subject - Local Universe
Galaxy > Type > Spiral
Galaxy > Type > Barred
Galaxy > Type > Ring

Distance

Universescale2
41,000,000 light years
Spitzer_sig05-011_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 12h 50m 18.5s
DEC = 25° 25’ 27.1”
Orientation
North is 55.2° CCW
Field of View
12.2 x 12.2 arcminutes
Constellation
Coma Berenices

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_sig05-011_1280
×
ID
sig05-011
Subject Category
C.5.1.1.   C.5.1.2.   C.5.1.5  
Subject Name
NGC 4725
Credits
NASA/JPL-Caltech/R. Kennicutt (University of Arizona) and the SINGS Team
Release Date
2005-08-25
Lightyears
41,000,000
Redshift
0.004023
Reference Url
http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/2355-sig05-011-NGC-4725
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Distance from NED, 2008/11/11
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
192.577159836, 25.4242051767
Reference Dimension
975, 975
Reference Pixel
872.332778931, 401.034820557
Scale
-0.00020838890432075, 0.00020838890432075
Rotation
55.194424054314
Coordinate System Projection:
TAN
Quality
Full
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
Spitzer Space Telescope
URL
http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu
Name
Spitzer Space Telescope
Email
Telephone
Address
1200 E. California Blvd.
City
Pasadena
State/Province
CA
Postal Code
91125
Country
USA
Rights
http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/info/18-Image-Use-Policy
Publisher
Spitzer Science Center
Publisher ID
spitzer
Resource ID
sig05-011.tif
Metadata Date
2012-10-11
Metadata Version
1.1
×

 

Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

×
Universescalefull
41,000,000 light years

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