HST Planetary Camera Images of Core of Peculiar Galaxy Arp 220 (Ground-based image vs. HST)
[right]
A ground-based telescopic photograph of the peculiar galaxy Arp 220 (image taken by K. Borne, H. Levison, and R. Lucas at USNO Flagstaff Station, Arizona) shows a curious double-lobed structure. This structure was first interpreted as two galaxies merging together, until subsequent observations with highly sensitive CCD detectors revealed a dust lane down the center which made the galaxy appear double lobed.
[left]
A "true-color" image of the central pan of the Arp 220 taken with the WFPC on the Hubble Space Telescope. HST reveals a new complex structure within one arc second of the nucleus. HST reveals a new class of object at the core: gigantic young star clusters which are ten times larger than clusters previously observed. They were probably produced by the collision of two spiral galaxies. Stars are produced at a furious rate from the raw dust and gas supplied by the collision.
Credit:
About the Image
NASA caption
| Id: | opo9216a |
| Type: | Collage |
| Release date: | 2 June 1992, 06:00 |
| Size: | 2785 x 1773 px |
About the Object
| Name: | Arp 220 |
| Type: | • Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Irregular • Local Universe : Galaxy : Component : Center/Core • Galaxies Images/Videos |
| Distance: | 250 million light years |
Colours & filters
| Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
| Optical V |
555 nm | Hubble Space Telescope WFPC1 |
| Optical R |
702 nm | Hubble Space Telescope WFPC1 |
| Infrared I |
785 nm | Hubble Space Telescope WFPC1 |
Notes: The right image was taken by K. Borne, H. Levison, and R. Lucas at USNO Flagstaff Station, Arizona.
