(Press-News.org) The starry mist streaking across this image obtained by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope is the central part of the dwarf galaxy known as NGC 2366. The most obvious feature in this galaxy is a large nebula visible in the upper-right part of the image, an object listed just a few entries prior in the New General Catalogue as NGC 2363.
A nearby yellowish swirl is not in fact part of the nebula. It is a spiral galaxy much further away, whose light is shining right through NGC 2366. This is possible because galaxies are not solid objects. While we see the stars because they shine brightly, galaxies are overwhelmingly made up of the empty space between them. Hubble's high-resolution image illustrates this perfectly: the stars are small points of light surrounded by the darkness of space.
The splendid interconnected objects of NGC 2366 and NGC 2363 are located about 10 million light-years away in the constellation of Camelopardalis (the Giraffe). As a dwarf galaxy, NGC 2366's size is in the same ballpark as the two main satellite galaxies of our Milky Way, named the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. Like the Magellanic clouds, NGC 2366's lack of well-defined structure leads astronomers to further classify it as an irregular galaxy.
Although NGC 2366 might be small by the standards of galaxies, many of its stars are not, and the galaxy is home to numerous gigantic blue stars. The blue dots scattered throughout the galaxy speak to the burst of star formation that the galaxy has undergone in recent cosmic time. A new generation of these stellar titans has lit up the nebula NGC 2363.
In gas-rich star-forming regions, the ultraviolet radiation from young, big, blue stars excites the hydrogen gas, making it glow. NGC 2363, as well as other, smaller patches seen throughout Hubble's image, serve as the latest formation sites for stellar giants.
Imaged through green and infrared filters, these nebulae take on a blueish tinge in this image, though the actual colour is a shade of red.
This image was produced from two adjacent fields observed by Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys. The field of view is approximately 5.5 arcminutes across, which is equivalent to a little over a fifth of the diameter of the full Moon. Although this is comparatively large by the standard of Hubble's images, NGC 2366 is much too faint to observe with the naked eye.
INFORMATION:
Notes
The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between ESA and NASA.
Image credit: NASA & ESA
Links
Images of Hubble: http://www.spacetelescope.org/images/archive/category/spacecraft/
Contacts
Oli Usher
Hubble/ESA
Garching, Germany
Tel: +49-89-3200-6855
Email: ousher@eso.org
Hubble observes a dwarf galaxy with a bright nebula
2012-05-11
[Attachments] See images for this press release:
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Study Shows the Benefits of Speed Limiters for Commercial Drivers
2012-05-11
Six years ago, the American Trucking Associations (ATA) advised the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) that using speed limiters --electronic devices that limit the top speed of commercial vehicles -- would help prevent commercial trucking accidents and make roads safer for motorists.
Now, according to ATA CEO Bill Graves, a recent study published by the FMCSA proves that these devices are an answer to saving lives of many commercial truck drivers. "This study confirms what ATA has been ...
Speed Limits Matter When Trying to Prevent Serious Accidents
2012-05-11
National measures to curb speeding on local roads and interstate highways have proved to be largely ineffective. In fact, the federal government repealed the national speed limit in 1995, prompting some states to raise their limit as high as 85 mph. Despite all the technology to increase automobile safety and measures to make roads safer, speeding contributes to around one third of the 10,000 traffic fatalities each year, according to AutoGuide.com. A 1998 study estimated the annual economic cost associated with deaths, injuries and damage from speeding was $27.7 billion.
The ...
Systemic sclerosis complications more severe in African Americans than Caucasians
2012-05-11
African Americans have more severe complications from systemic sclerosis, also known as scleroderma, than Caucasians. Findings published today in, Arthritis & Rheumatism, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), show that compared with Caucasians, African-American patients were more likely to have antibodies that increased frequency and severity of pulmonary fibrosis, which is associated with decreased survival.
According to the ACR there are 49,000 adult American diagnosed with systemic sclerosis—an autoimmune disease where collagen build-ups in the ...
Unseen planet revealed by its gravity
2012-05-11
More than a 150 years ago, before Neptune was ever sighted in the night sky, French mathematician Urbain Le Verrier predicted the planet's existence based on small deviations in the motion of Uranus. In a paper published today in the journal Science online, a group of researchers led by Dr. David Nesvorny of Southwest Research Institute has inferred another unseen planet, this time orbiting a distant star, marking the first success of this technique outside the solar system.
Using a laborious computational method to assess the effects of gravity, known as gravitational ...
Breathalyzers in Colorado
2012-05-11
Everyone has heard about them. Whether one has seen them on television or in driver's education classes, every driver is aware that police officers use an Intoxilyzer or other breath test device as a tool to determine if a driver is operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. Yet, many drivers have questions about these devices.
Are we required to submit to a Breathalyzer test? How do these devices work? How many kinds are there? Are they accurate?
People may ponder these questions at one time or another, but they rarely stop to think about the answers. ...
HPV-positive throat cancer patients respond better to radiotherapy alone than HPV-negative patients
2012-05-11
Barcelona, Spain: New findings from a large Danish database of cancer patients suggest that, even though the human papilloma virus (HPV) can trigger throat cancer, patients who are HPV-positive and are light smokers, or don't smoke at all, have a good response to treatment using radiotherapy alone, without the addition of chemotherapy with its consequent toxic side-effects.
Presenting her research at the 31st conference of the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology (ESTRO 31) [1] today [Thursday], Dr Pernille Lassen, a resident in medical and radiation oncology ...
The Police Are at Your Door. Do You Know What to Do?
2012-05-11
"Trust me; things will be a lot easier if you cooperate."
These words -- or something like them -- are spoken by countless law enforcement officers every day. They're true, but only in part: things will be a lot easier for the police if you give them what they are asking for. However, if you are suspected of a crime, asserting your rights at the early stages of the investigation is the most important step you can take to protect your future.
If you suspect that you may be under investigation, be polite, but don't give the police access to any information ...
3-D image guided brachytherapy helps avoid hysterectomies for cervical cancer patients
2012-05-11
Barcelona, Spain: Delivering radiotherapy directly to cancer of the cervix using 3-D imaging techniques is effective at controlling the return and spread of the disease and, in most cases, avoids the need for hysterectomies, according to research presented at the World Congress of Brachytherapy [1 & 2] today (Thursday).
Dr Renaud Mazeron said that a review of the use of 3-D image guided adaptive brachytherapy (IGABT) after a course of chemotherapy and radiotherapy given together (concomitant chemoradiation) in 163 patients treated between 2004-2009 at the Institut Gustave ...
New IBEX data show heliosphere's long-theorized bow shock does not exist
2012-05-11
New results from NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) reveal that the bow shock, widely accepted by researchers to precede the heliosphere as it plows through tenuous gas and dust from the galaxy does not exist.
According to a paper published in the journal Science online, the latest refinements in relative speed and local interstellar magnetic field strengh prevent the heliosphere, the magnetic "bubble" that cocoons Earth and the other planets, from developing a bow shock. The bow shock would consist of ionized gas or plasma that abruptly and discontinuously ...
Divorce & Stock Options: Valuations, Exercised Options and Taxes Oh My!
2012-05-11
Property distribution in divorce is difficult even in simple estates, but complications abound for those with more complex mixes of assets. These high-asset divorce cases often require review of financial portfolios, including stock options.
Stock options are often used to lure key employees into high-level positions. A stock option is a contract that allows the holder to purchase a specified amount of stock for a certain price within a set time period. Stock options can be provided as an additional form of compensation and offer an incentive not only to continue working ...