VLT looks into the eyes of the Virgin
This striking image, taken with the FORS2 instrument on the Very Large Telescope, shows a beautiful yet peculiar pair of galaxies, NGC 4438 and NGC 4435, nicknamed The Eyes. The larger of these, at the top of the picture, NGC 4438, is thought to have once been a spiral galaxy that was strongly deformed by collisions in the relatively recent past. The two galaxies belong to the Virgo Cluster and are about 50 million light-years away.
Credit:ESO
About the Image
| Id: | eso1131a |
| Type: | Observation |
| Release date: | 24 August 2011, 12:00 |
| Related releases: | eso1131 |
| Size: | 1781 x 1499 px |
About the Object
| Name: | Eyes Galaxies, NGC 4435, NGC 4438 |
| Type: | Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Interacting |
| Distance: | 50 million light years |
| Constellation: | Virgo |
| Category: | Galaxies |
Mounted Image
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Coordinates
| Position (RA): | 12 27 45.67 |
| Position (Dec): | 13° 0' 31.02" |
| Field of view: | 7.48 x 6.30 arcminutes |
| Orientation: | North is 120.0° right of vertical |
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Colours & filters
| Band | Telescope |
|---|---|
| Optical V | Very Large Telescope FORS2 |
Pseudogreen (V+R) | Very Large Telescope FORS2 |
| Optical R | Very Large Telescope FORS2 |