Potw1505a
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA
Acknowledgement: Josh BarringtonGalaxies can take many shapes and be oriented any way relative to us in the sky. This can make it hard to figure out their actual morphology, as a galaxy can look very different from different viewpoints. A special case is when we are lucky enough to observe a spiral galaxy directly from its edge, providing us with a spectacular view like the one seen in this picture of the week.
This is NGC 7814, also known as the “Little Sombrero”. Its larger namesake the Sombrero Galaxy is another stunning example of an edge-on galaxy — in fact, the “Little Sombrero” is about the same size as its bright namesake at about 60 000 light-years across, but as it lies further away, it appears smaller in the sky.
NGC 7814 has a bright central bulge and a bright halo of glowing gas extending outwards into space. The dusty spiral arms appear as dark streaks. they consist of dusty material that absorbs and blocks light from the galactic centre behind it. The field of view of this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image would be very impressive even without NGC 7814 in front; nearly all the objects seen in this image are galaxies as well.
A version of this image was entered into the Hubble’s Hidden Treasures image processing competition by contestant Josh Barrington. Links
Josh Barrington’s Hidden Treasures entry on Flickr
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA Acknowledgement: Josh Barrington
About the Object
Name: NGC 7814
Type: • Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Spiral
• X - Galaxies Images/Videos
Distance: 40 million light years
Constellation: Pegasus
Colours & filters Band Wavelength Telescope Infrared I 814 nm Hubble Space Telescope ACS Optical V 606 nm Hubble Space Telescope ACS.
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NGC 7814NGC 7814 ist eine spiralförmige Radiogalaxie vom Hubble-Typ Sab in edge-on Stellung. Sie liegt in der Nähe des Sternes Algenib im Sternbild Pegasus nördlich des Himmelsäquators. Die Galaxie ist schätzungsweise 54 Millionen Lichtjahre von der Milchstraße entfernt und hat einen Durchmesser von etwa 90.000 Lichtjahren. Sie entfernt sich vom Sonnensystem mit einer errechneten Radialgeschwindigkeit von näherungsweise 1.000 Kilometern pro Sekunde. .. weiterlesen