This image of spiral galaxy NGC 3351 combines observations from several observatories to reveal details about its stars and gas. Radio observations from the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) show dense molecular gas in magenta. The Very Large Telescope’s Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) instrument highlights where young massive stars illuminate their surroundings, set off in red. The Hubble Space Telescope’s images highlight dust lanes in white and newly formed stars in blue. High-resolution infrared images from the Webb Space Telescope will help researchers identify where stars are forming behind dust and study the earliest stages of star formation in this galaxy.
Credits
Science
NASA, ESA, ESO-Chile, ALMA, NAOJ, NRAO
Image Processing
Joseph DePasquale (STScI)
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | NGC 3351 |
| Object Description | Barred spiral galaxy |
| R.A. Position | 10:43:55.08 |
| Dec. Position | +11:41:24.70 |
| Constellation | Leo |
| Distance | Approximately 33 million light-years. |
| Dimensions | Image is 2.9 arcmin across (about 28,000 light-years) |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | The Hubble portion of this image was created from HST data from proposal: (D. Calzetti) |
| Instrument | HST>WFC3/UVIS VLT>MUSE ALMA |
| Exposure Dates | HST> 01 March 2014, 23 April 2014 |
| Filters | HST/WFC3> F275W, F336W, F438W, F555W, F814W VLT/MUSE> F502N, F673N, F656N, Johnson B, Johnson V, Johnson R, SDSS b, SDSS r, SDSS i |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | These images are a composite of separate exposures acquired by the Hubble Space Telescope, the Very Large Array and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array. Several filters were used to sample narrow and broad wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic (grayscale) image associated with an individual filter. In this case, the assigned colors are: HST/WFC3> Magenta: F275W Purple: F336W Blue: F438W Green: F555W Red: F814W VLT/MUSE> Blue: F502N + Johnson B + SDSS b Green: F673N + Johnson V + SDSS r Red: F656N + Johnson R + SDSS i ALMA> Magenta |
| Compass Image |  |
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | A name or catalog number that astronomers use to identify an astronomical object. |
| Object Description | The type of astronomical object. |
| R.A. Position | Right ascension – analogous to longitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Dec. Position | Declination – analogous to latitude – is one component of an object's position. |
| Constellation | One of 88 recognized regions of the celestial sphere in which the object appears. |
| Distance | The physical distance from Earth to the astronomical object. Distances within our solar system are usually measured in Astronomical Units (AU). Distances between stars are usually measured in light-years. Interstellar distances can also be measured in parsecs. |
| Dimensions | The physical size of the object or the apparent angle it subtends on the sky. |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description |
|
| Instrument | The science instrument used to produce the data. |
| Exposure Dates | The date(s) that the telescope made its observations and the total exposure time. |
| Filters | The camera filters that were used in the science observations. |
| About The Image | |
| Image Credit | The primary individuals and institutions responsible for the content. |
| Publication Date | The date and time the release content became public. |
| Color Info | A brief description of the methods used to convert telescope data into the color image being presented. |
| Orientation | The rotation of the image on the sky with respect to the north pole of the celestial sphere. |
