Spitzer SWIRE Field ELAIS-N1

Spitzer_sig05-019a_1024

spitzer_sig05-019a October 27th, 2005

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/C. Lonsdale (IPAC/Caltech) and the SWIRE Team

This spectacular infrared image, taken by the Spitzer Wide-area Infrared Extragalactic (SWIRE) Legacy project, encapsulates one of the primary objectives of the Spitzer mission: to connect the evolution of galaxies from the distant, or early, universe to the nearby, or present day, universe.

This picture depicts one-tenth of the SWIRE survey field called ELAIS-N1. In this image, the bright blue sources are hot stars in our own Milky Way, which range anywhere from 3 to 60 times the mass of our Sun. The fainter green spots are cooler stars and galaxies beyond the Milky Way whose light is dominated by older stellar populations. The red dots are dusty galaxies that are undergoing intense star formation. The faintest specks of red-orange are galaxies billions of light-years away in the distant universe.

The observed SWIRE fields were chosen on the basis of being "empty" or as free as possible from the obscuring dust, gas, and stars of our own Milky Way. Because Earth is located within the Milky Way galaxy, there is always a screen of Milky Way objects blocking our view of the rest of the universe. In some places, our view of the larger universe is less obscured than others and for the most part is considered "empty." These are prime observing spots for astronomers interested in studying objects beyond the Milky Way.

ELAIS-N1 is only one of six SWIRE survey fields. The full survey covers 49 square degrees of the sky, equivalent to the area covered by about 250 full moons.

The SWIRE image is a 3-channel color composite, where blue represents visible green light (light that would appear to be blue/green to the human eye), green captures 3.6 microns, and red represents emissions at 8 microns.

Interesting Note: From the Earth the SWIRE image (top image) can be seen in one square degree of sky, or a patch of sky that is approximately the size of a pea held out at arms length.

Provider: Spitzer Space Telescope

Image Source: http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/2377-sig05-019a-Spitzer-SWIRE-Field-ELAIS-N1

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
ELAIS-N1
Subject - Local Universe
Cosmology > Morphology > Deep Field
Cosmology > Morphology > Deep Field

Distance

Spitzer_sig05-019a_128
 

Position Details

Position (ICRS)
RA = 16h 6m 37.0s
DEC = 54° 59’ 45.9”
Orientation
North is 44.1° CW
Constellation
Draco

Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Blue - Optical (V-band) 550.0 nm
Green Spitzer (IRAC) Infrared (Near-IR) 3.6 µm
Red Spitzer (IRAC) Infrared (Mid-IR) 8.0 µm
Spectrum_base
Blue
Green
Red
Spitzer_sig05-019a_1280
×
ID
sig05-019a
Subject Category
C.6.1.1.   D.6.1.1.  
Subject Name
ELAIS-N1
Credits
NASA/JPL-Caltech/C. Lonsdale (IPAC/Caltech) and the SWIRE Team
Release Date
2005-10-27
Lightyears
Redshift
Reference Url
http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/2377-sig05-019a-Spitzer-SWIRE-Field-ELAIS-N1
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Good
Distance Notes
Deep Field
Facility
-, Spitzer, Spitzer
Instrument
-, IRAC, IRAC
Color Assignment
Blue, Green, Red
Band
Optical, Infrared, Infrared
Bandpass
V-band, Near-IR, Mid-IR
Central Wavelength
550, 3600, 8000
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
ICRS
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
241.65419786329335, 54.996086502573476
Reference Dimension
Reference Pixel
2716.5, 2716.5
Scale
-0.00016669812625383585, 0.00016669812625383585
Rotation
-44.0902998376
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
sig05-019a.tif
Metadata Date
2012-10-11
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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