The galactic glory of NGC 2280
This new image of the galaxy NGC 2280 shows the extent of its massive spiral arms that reach far into the surrounding space. These star-filled tentacles taper off into wispy blue clouds of illuminated and glowing gas well away from the central, bright bulge of the galaxy. Found towards the constellation of Canis Major (the Greater Dog), NGC 2280 is thought to be similar in shape to our own Milky Way galaxy.
NGC 2280 whirls in the cosmos about 75 million light-years from us; this snapshot therefore shows the galaxy as it appeared when dinosaurs still roamed the Earth.
The very bright stars that sparkle like diamonds in the image, as well as the many other stars of various colours, are all in the foreground of our view, as they lie much closer to us than NGC 2280.
The image was captured with the ESO Faint Object Spectrograph and Camera (EFOSC2) through three filters (B, V, R). EFOSC2 was attached to the 3.6-metre telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory in Chile. EFOSC2 has a field of view of 4.1 x 4.1 arcminutes.
ESO
Over de afbeelding
| Id: | ngc2280-potw |
| Type: | Observatie |
| Publicatiedatum: | 3 december 2009 23:18 |
| Grootte: | 1985 x 1990 px |
Over het object
| Naam: | Galaxy, NGC 2280 |
| Type: | Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Spiral |
| Afstand: | 75 miljoen lichtjaren |
| Constellation: | Canis Major |
| Categorie: | Galaxies |
Wallpapers
Coordinates
| Position (RA): | 6 44 49.40 |
| Position (Dec): | -27° 38' 21.72" |
| Field of view: | 5.22 x 5.23 arcminutes |
| Orientation: | North is 1.2° right of vertical |
Kleuren & filters
| Band | Golflengte | Telescoop |
|---|---|---|
| Optisch B | 440 nm | ESO 3.6-metre telescope EFOSC2 |
| Optisch V | 547 nm | ESO 3.6-metre telescope EFOSC2 |
| Optisch R | 643 nm | ESO 3.6-metre telescope EFOSC2 |