Galaxy Silhouettes
The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured a rare alignment between two spiral galaxies. The outer rim of a small, foreground galaxy is silhouetted in front of a larger background galaxy. Skeletal tentacles of dust can be seen extending beyond the small galaxy's disk of starlight. From ground-based telescopes, the two galaxies look like a single blob. But the Advanced Camera's sharp "eye" distinguished the blob as two galaxies, cataloged as 2MASX J00482185-2507365. The images were taken on 19 September, 2006.
Credit:
NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
About the Image
NASA press release
NASA caption
NASA caption
| Id: | opo0833a |
| Type: | Observation |
| Release date: | 16 September 2008, 15:00 |
| Size: | 975 x 958 px |
About the Object
| Name: | 2MASX J00482185-2507365, LEDA 198197 |
| Type: | • Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Spiral |
| Distance: | 800 million light years |
Colours & filters
| Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
| Optical V |
475 nm | Hubble Space Telescope ACS |
| Optical V |
606 nm | Hubble Space Telescope ACS |
| Infrared I |
814 nm | Hubble Space Telescope ACS |
