This image of the Pinwheel Galaxy, or
also known as M101, combines data in the infrared, visible, ultraviolet and
X-rays from four of NASA's space-based telescopes. This multi-spectral view
shows that both young and old stars are evenly distributed along M101's
tightly-wound spiral arms. Such composite images allow astronomers to see how
features in one part of the spectrum match up with those seen in other parts.
It is like seeing with a regular camera, an ultraviolet camera, night-vision
goggles and X-ray vision, all at the same time.
The Pinwheel Galaxy is in the
constellation of Ursa Major (also known as the Big Dipper). It is about 70
percent larger than our own Milky Way Galaxy, with a diameter of about 170,000
light years, and sits at a distance of 21 million light years from Earth. This
means that the light we're seeing in this image left the Pinwheel Galaxy about
21 million years ago - many millions of years before humans ever walked the
Earth.
The hottest and most energetic areas in
this composite image are shown in purple, where the Chandra X-ray Observatory
observed the X-ray emission from exploded stars, million-degree gas, and
material colliding around black holes.
The red colors in the image show
infrared light, as seen by the Spitzer Space Telescope. These areas show the
heat emitted by dusty lanes in the galaxy, where stars are forming.
The yellow component is visible light,
observed by the Hubble Space Telescope. Most of this light comes from stars,
and they trace the same spiral structure as the dust lanes seen in the
infrared.
The blue areas are ultraviolet light,
given out by hot, young stars that formed about one million years ago, captured
by the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX).
Credits: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; IR &
UV: NASA/JPL-Caltech; Optical: NASA/STScI
Janet Anderson, 256-544-0034
Marshall Space Flight Center,
Huntsville, Ala.
janet.l.anderson@nasa.gov
Megan Watzke 617-496-7998
Chandra X-ray Center, Cambridge, Mass.
m.watzke@cfa.harvard.edu
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