Peculiar galaxy NGC 3256
This image, taken with the Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) and the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), both installed on the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, shows the peculiar galaxy NGC 3256. The galaxy is about 100 million light-years from Earth and is the result of a past galactic merger, which created its distorted appearance. As such, NGC 3256 provides an ideal target to investigate starbursts that have been triggered by galaxy mergers.
Another image of NGC 3256 was already released in 2008, as part of a collection of interacting galaxies, created for Hubble’s 18th birthday.
Credit:ESA/Hubble, NASA
About the Image
| Id: | heic1811a |
| Type: | Observation |
| Release date: | 31 May 2018, 16:00 |
| Related releases: | heic2101, heic1811 |
| Size: | 3948 x 3978 px |
About the Object
| Name: | NGC 3256 |
| Type: | Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Interacting |
| Distance: | 100 million light years |
| Constellation: | Vela |
| Category: | Galaxies |
Wallpapers
Coordinates
| Position (RA): | 10 27 52.83 |
| Position (Dec): | -43° 54' 11.47" |
| Field of view: | 3.29 x 3.31 arcminutes |
| Orientation: | North is 95.2° left of vertical |
View in ESASky:
View in WorldWide Telescope:
Colours & filters
| Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
|---|---|---|
| Optical V | 555 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
ACS |
| Optical H Alpha +[N II ] | 665 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFC3 |
| Optical V | 555 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
ACS |
| Optical H Alpha +[N II ] | 665 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFC3 |
| Optical SII | 673 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFC3 |
| Optical I | 814 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
ACS |