Largest ever galaxy portrait - stunning HD image of Pinwheel Galaxy
This new Hubble image reveals the gigantic Pinwheel galaxy, one of the best known examples of "grand design spirals", and its supergiant star-forming regions in unprecedented detail. The image is the largest and most detailed photo of a spiral galaxy ever taken with Hubble.
Credit:Image: European Space Agency & NASA
Acknowledgements:
Project Investigators for the original Hubble data: K.D. Kuntz (GSFC), F. Bresolin (University of Hawaii), J. Trauger (JPL), J. Mould (NOAO), and Y.-H. Chu (University of Illinois, Urbana)
Image processing: Davide De Martin (ESA/Hubble)
CFHT image: Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope/J.-C. Cuillandre/Coelum
NOAO image: George Jacoby, Bruce Bohannan, Mark Hanna/NOAO/AURA/NSF
About the Image
| Id: | heic0602a |
| Type: | Observation |
| Release date: | 28 February 2006, 12:00 |
| Related releases: | heic0602 |
| Size: | 15852 x 12392 px |
About the Object
| Name: | Messier 101, Pinwheel Galaxy |
| Type: | Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Spiral |
| Distance: | 23 million light years |
| Constellation: | Ursa Major |
| Category: | Galaxies |
Image Formats
Wallpapers
Coordinates
| Position (RA): | 14 3 34.71 |
| Position (Dec): | 54° 18' 3.65" |
| Field of view: | 13.20 x 10.32 arcminutes |
| Orientation: | North is 3.5° right of vertical |
Colours & filters
| Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
|---|---|---|
| Optical B | 435 nm | Hubble Space Telescope |
| Optical V | 555 nm | Hubble Space Telescope |
| Infrared I | 814 nm | Hubble Space Telescope |
Notes: The Hubble data for this image was superimposed over ground-based images taken with the ground-based Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT).