Baby Burp in Galaxy's Core (Galaxy View)
These NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope snapshots reveal dramatic activities within the core of the galaxy NGC 3079, where a lumpy bubble of hot gas is rising from a cauldron of glowing matter. The picture at left shows the bubble in the center of the galaxy's disk. The structure is more than 3, 000 light-years wide and rises 3, 500 light-years above the galaxy's disk. The smaller photo at right is a close-up view of the bubble. Astronomers suspect that the bubble is being blown by 'winds' (high-speed streams of particles) released during a burst of star formation. Gaseous filaments at the top of the bubble are whirling around in a vortex and are being expelled into space. Eventually, this gas will rain down upon the galaxy's disk where it may collide with gas clouds, compress them, and form a new generation of stars. The two white dots just above the bubble are probably stars in the galaxy.
Credit:
About the Image
NASA caption
| Id: | opo0128b |
| Type: | Observation |
| Release date: | 16 August 2001, 15:00 |
| Size: | 2329 x 1845 px |
About the Object
| Name: | IRAS 0958+559P15, NGC 3079 |
| Type: | • Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Spiral • Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Barred • Galaxies Images/Videos |
| Distance: | 65 million light years |
Colours & filters
| Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
| Optical NII |
658 nm | Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 |
| Infrared I |
814 nm | Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 |
