NGC 1275
This image shows a deep Hydrogen-alpha image of the brightest X-ray source in the sky, NGC1275, taken by the WIYN 3.5-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory near Tucson, AZ, in 1999.
The filaments emanating from this galaxy are produced through largely unknown mechanisms, but they likely are the result of an interaction between the black hole in the center of the galaxy and the intracluster medium surrounding it. (The glowing background objects in this image are galaxies in that same galaxy cluster.)
At a distance of about 230 million light-years, this is the nearest example to Earth of such vast structures, which are seen surrounding the most massive galaxies throughout the Universe.
Credit:C. Conselice/Caltech and WIYN/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA
About the Image
Id: | noao-n1275 |
Type: | Observation |
Release date: | July 18, 2005, 9:10 a.m. |
Related announcements: | noaoann05017 |
Size: | 979 x 1321 px |
About the Object
Wallpapers
1024x768
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1280x1024
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1600x1200
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1920x1200
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2048x1536
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Coordinates
Position (RA): | 3 19 47.55 |
Position (Dec): | 41° 31' 36.65" |
Field of view: | 3.21 x 4.33 arcminutes |
Orientation: | North is 0.2° left of vertical |
Colors & filters
Band | Wave-length | Tele-scope |
---|---|---|
Optical v | 606 nm | WIYN 3.5-meter Telescope |
Optical i | 780 nm | WIYN 3.5-meter Telescope |
Optical H-alpha | 656 nm | WIYN 3.5-meter Telescope |