| NASA Center: |
Hubble Space Telescope Center |
|---|
| Image # : |
PR99-25 |
|---|
| Date : |
06/03/1999
|
|---|
|
Title
Magnificant Details in a Dusty Spiral Galaxy
Full Description
In 1995, the majestic spiral galaxy NGC 4414 was imaged by the Hubble
Space Telescope as part of the HST Key Project on the Extragalactic
Distance Scale. An international team of astronomers, led by Dr. Wendy
Freedman of the Observatories of the Carnegie Institution of
Washington, observed this galaxy on 13 different occasions over the
course of two months.
Images were obtained with Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2
(WFPC2) through three different color filters. Based on their discovery
and careful brightness measurements of variable stars in NGC 4414, the
Key Project astronomers were able to make an accurate determination of
the distance to the galaxy. The resulting distance to NGC 4414, 19.1
megaparsecs or about 60 million light-years, along with similarly
determined distances to other nearby galaxies, contributes to
astronomers' overall knowledge of the rate of expansion of the
universe.
In 1999, the Hubble Heritage Team revisited NGC 4414 and completed its
portrait by observing the other half with the same filters as were used
in 1995. The end result is a stunning full-color look at the entire
dusty spiral galaxy. The new Hubble picture shows that the central
regions of this galaxy, as is typical of most spirals, contain
primarily older, yellow and red stars. The outer spiral arms are
considerably bluer due to ongoing formation of young, blue stars, the
brightest of which can be seen individually at the high resolution
provided by the Hubble camera. The arms are also very rich in clouds of
interstellar dust, seen as dark patches and streaks
silhouetted against the starlight.
Keywords
Hubble Space Telescope HST NGC 4414 Wide Field Planetary Camera WFPC Galaxy
Subject Category
Deep Space Studies, Hubble,
Reference Numbers
- Center:
HSTI
- Center Number:
PR99-25
- GRIN DataBase Number:
GPN-2000-000933
Source Information
- Creator/Photographer: NASA, The Hubble Heritage Team, STScI, AURA
- Original Source: DIGITAL
| Resolution | Format | Width
(Pixels) | Height
(Pixels) | Size
(KBytes) |
Thumbnail |
.jpg |
95 |
86 |
12 |
Small |
.jpg |
738 |
609 |
405 |
Medium |
.jpg |
1730 |
1428 |
2,475 |
Large |
.jpg |
1730 |
1428 |
2,478 |
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Updated October 31, 2002
• History Questions: NASA History Office
• Responsible NASA Official: Steve Garber
• Author: Michael Hahn. Editor: Dwayne A. Day
• Curator & Technical Questions: Erin Needham
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