Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have captured an amazing new photo of the face-on spiral galaxy Messier 61.
This composite image shows the barred spiral galaxy Messier 61. The color image is made up of observations from the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) instrument onboard the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope and the FOcal Reducer and low dispersion Spectrograph 2 (FORS2) instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope at Paranal Observatory in Chile in the near-infrared and optical parts of the spectrum. It is based on data obtained through six filters. The color results from assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / ESO / J. Lee / PHANGS-HST Team.
Messier 61 is a barred spiral galaxy located 52.5 million light-years away in the constellation of Virgo.
Otherwise known as M61, NGC 4303, LEDA 40001 and IRAS 12194+0444, this galaxy was discovered on May 5, 1779 by the Italian astronomer Barnaba Oriani.
French astronomer Charles Messier noticed it on the same night as Oriani, but he mistook the galaxy for a passing comet.
Messier 61 has an apparent magnitude of 10.2, is most easily spotted during the month of May and can be observed using a small telescope.
The galaxy is roughly the size of the Milky Way Galaxy, with a diameter of around 100,000 light-years.
It is one of the largest members of a massive group of galaxies called the Virgo Cluster.
“The luminous heart of Messier 61 dominates the new image, framed by its winding spiral arms threaded with dark tendrils of dust,” Hubble astronomers said.
“As well as the usual bright bands of stars, the spiral arms of Messier 61 are studded with ruby-red patches of light.”
“Tell-tale signs of recent star formation, these glowing regions lead to Messier 61’s classification as a starburst galaxy.”
“Though the gleaming spiral of this galaxy makes for a spectacular sight, one of the most interesting features of Messier 61 lurks unseen at the centre of this image,” they noted.
“As well as widespread pockets of star formation, Messier 61 hosts a supermassive black hole more than 5 million times as massive as the Sun.”
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April 05, 2021 at 03:11PM
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