File:Dwarf Galaxies Forming in Tidal Tails.jpg
Original file (960 × 805 pixels, file size: 113 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)
Captions
Summary[edit]
DescriptionDwarf Galaxies Forming in Tidal Tails.jpg |
English: This false-color infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows little "dwarf galaxies" forming in the "tails" of two larger galaxies that are colliding together. The big galaxies are at the center of the picture, while the dwarfs can be seen as red dots in the red streamers, or tidal tails. The two blue dots above the big galaxies are stars in the foreground.
Galaxy mergers are common occurrences in the universe; for example, our own Milky Way galaxy will eventually smash into the nearby Andromeda galaxy. When two galaxies meet, they tend to rip each other apart, leaving a trail, called a tidal tail, of gas and dust in their wake. It is out of this galactic debris that new dwarf galaxies are born. The new Spitzer picture demonstrates that these particular dwarfs are actively forming stars. The red color indicates the presence of dust produced in star-forming regions, including organic molecules called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs. PAHs are also found on Earth, in car exhaust and on burnt toast, among other places. Here, the PAHs are being heated up by the young stars, and, as a result, shine in infrared light. This image was taken by the infrared array camera on Spitzer. It is a 4-color composite of infrared light, showing emissions from wavelengths of 3.6 microns (blue), 4.5 microns (green), 5.8 microns (orange), and 8.0 microns (red). Starlight has been subtracted from the orange and red channels in order to enhance the dust, or PAH, features. |
Date | |
Source | http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/images/2391-sig05-021-Dwarf-Galaxies-Forming-in-Tidal-Tails |
Author | NASA/JPL-Caltech/S. J. U. Higdon (Cornell University) |
Image use policy: http://www.spitzer.caltech.edu/info/18-Image-Use-Policy
Licensing[edit]
Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse |
This file is in the public domain in the United States because it was solely created by NASA. NASA copyright policy states that "NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted". (See Template:PD-USGov, NASA copyright policy page or JPL Image Use Policy.) | ||
Warnings:
|
File history
Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time.
Date/Time | Thumbnail | Dimensions | User | Comment | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
current | 15:19, 21 June 2011 | 960 × 805 (113 KB) | Spitzersteph (talk | contribs) |
You cannot overwrite this file.
File usage on Commons
There are no pages that use this file.
Metadata
This file contains additional information such as Exif metadata which may have been added by the digital camera, scanner, or software program used to create or digitize it. If the file has been modified from its original state, some details such as the timestamp may not fully reflect those of the original file. The timestamp is only as accurate as the clock in the camera, and it may be completely wrong.
Image title | This false-color infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows little "dwarf galaxies" forming in the "tails" of two larger galaxies that are colliding together. The big galaxies are at the center of the picture, while the dwarfs can be seen as red dots in the red streamers, or tidal tails. The two blue dots above the big galaxies are stars in the foreground.
Galaxy mergers are common occurrences in the universe; for example, our own Milky Way galaxy will eventually smash into the nearby Andromeda galaxy. When two galaxies meet, they tend to rip each other apart, leaving a trail, called a tidal tail, of gas and dust in their wake. It is out of this galactic debris that new dwarf galaxies are born. The new Spitzer picture demonstrates that these particular dwarfs are actively forming stars. The red color indicates the presence of dust produced in star-forming regions, including organic molecules called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs. PAHs are also found on Earth, in car exhaust and on burnt toast, among other places. Here, the PAHs are being heated up by the young stars, and, as a result, shine in infrared light. This image was taken by the infrared array camera on Spitzer. It is a 4-color composite of infrared light, showing emissions from wavelengths of 3.6 microns (blue), 4.5 microns (green), 5.8 microns (orange), and 8.0 microns (red). Starlight has been subtracted from the orange and red channels in order to enhance the dust, or PAH, features. |
---|---|
Author | Spitzer Space Telescope |
Width | 848 px |
Height | 711 px |
Compression scheme | LZW |
Pixel composition | RGB |
Orientation | Normal |
Number of components | 3 |
Horizontal resolution | 72 dpi |
Vertical resolution | 72 dpi |
Data arrangement | chunky format |
Software used | Adobe Photoshop CS3 Macintosh |
File change date and time | 14:32, 5 June 2009 |
Color space | sRGB |