A Vista of NGC 2626 with the SMARTS 0.9-meter Telescope
This image is so beautiful that it could almost be a painting, but it is real. It has been produced using observations made at the SMARTS 0.9-meter Telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO), which is a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab. It features a reflection nebula known as NGC 2626, which lies 3300 light-years from Earth.
Reflection nebulae are not luminous themselves, but they reflect light from a nearby star or stars. The light scatters off the dust particles in the nebulae, which often results in reflection nebulae having a blue tint, because blue light scatters more efficiently. This is the same phenomenon that makes the sky on Earth appear blue — the laws of physics are the same throughout our Universe! The red nebulosities are glowing hydrogen gas.
Credit:CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/SMARTS Consortium
Image processing: T. A. Rector (University of Alaska Anchorage/NSF’s NOIRLab), M. Zamani & D. de Martin (NSF’s NOIRLab)
About the Image
Id: | iotw2115a |
Type: | Observation |
Release date: | April 14, 2021, 4 p.m. |
Size: | 1819 x 2022 px |
About the Object
Wallpapers
Coordinates
Position (RA): | 8 35 37.96 |
Position (Dec): | -40° 39' 47.25" |
Field of view: | 12.17 x 13.53 arcminutes |
Orientation: | North is 0.1° right of vertical |
Colors & filters
Band | Wave-length | Tele-scope |
---|---|---|
Optical g | 475 nm | SMARTS–GSU 0.9-meter Telescope CCD |
Optical r | 626 nm | SMARTS–GSU 0.9-meter Telescope CCD |
Optical i | 773 nm | SMARTS–GSU 0.9-meter Telescope CCD |
Optical H-alpha | 655 nm | SMARTS–GSU 0.9-meter Telescope CCD |