Hubble spies eight green filaments lit up by past quasar blasts
This image shows the winding green filaments observed by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope within eight different galaxies. The ethereal wisps in these images were illuminated, perhaps briefly, by a blast of radiation from a quasar — a very luminous and compact region that surrounds a supermassive black hole at the centre of a galaxy.
In each of these eight images a quasar beam has caused once-invisible filaments in deep space to glow through a process called photoionisation. Oxygen, helium, nitrogen, sulphur and neon in the filaments absorb light from the quasar and slowly re-emit it over many thousands of years. Their unmistakable emerald hue is caused by ionised oxygen, which glows green.
The Hubble team found a total of twenty galaxies that had gas ionised by quasars; those featured here are (from left to right on top row) the Teacup (more formally known as 2MASX J14302986+1339117), NGC 5972, 2MASX J15100402+0740370 and UGC 7342, and (from left to right on bottom row) NGC 5252, Mrk 1498, UGC 11185 and 2MASX J22014163+1151237.
Credit:About the Image
Id: | heic1507a |
Type: | Collage |
Release date: | 2 April 2015, 17:00 |
Related releases: | heic1507 |
Size: | 4932 x 2338 px |
About the Object
Name: | 2MASX J14302986+1339117, 2MASX J15100402+0740370, 2MASX J22014163+1151237, Mrk 1498, NGC 5252, NGC 5972, Teacup Galaxy, UGC 11185, UGC 7342 |
Type: | Local Universe : Nebula : Appearance : Emission Local Universe : Galaxy : Activity : AGN : Quasar |
Category: | Nebulae Quasars and Black Holes |
Image Formats
Colours & filters
Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
---|---|---|
Optical B |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFPC2 | |
Optical R |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFPC2 | |
Optical R | 621 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFC3 |
Optical Oiii | 551 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
ACS |
Optical Oiii | 505 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
ACS |
Optical Oiii | 533 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFPC2 |
R+I |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFC3 | |
Optical G |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFPC2 | |
Infrared I | 763 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFC3 |
Optical H-alpha + Nii | 716 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
ACS |
Optical H-alpha + Nii | 656 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
ACS |
Optical H-alpha + Nii | 673 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
ACS |