Hubble Homes in on Galaxy’s Star Formation
This image of the NASA / ESA Hubble space telescope has a galaxy whose asymmetrical appearance can be the result of a galactic war tug. Located at 35 million light years in the Constellation Leo, the Spiral Galaxy Messier 96 is the brightest of the galaxies in its group. The gravitational attraction of its galactic neighbors can be responsible for the unequal distribution of messier 96 gas and dust, asymmetrical spiral arms and the galactic nucleus outside the center.
This asymmetrical appearance is in full display in the new Hubble image which incorporates data from observations made in Ultraviolet, near infrared and visible / optical light. Hubble images of Hubble de Messier 96 were published in 2015 and 2018. Each successive image has added new data, creating a magnificent and scientific view of the galaxy.
The 2015 image combined two optical light wavelengths with a wavelength near the infrared. Optical light has revealed the unequal shape of dust and gas from the galaxy in an asymmetrical way through its weak spiral arms and its off -center core, while the infrared light revealed the heat of the stars forming in pink shaded clouds in the image.
The 2018 image added two other light optical wavelengths as well as an ultraviolet light wavelength which has identified areas where young high energy stars are formed.
This latest version offers us a new perspective on the formation of stars of Messier 96. It includes the addition of light which reveals regions of ionized hydrogen (H-Alpha) and nitrogen (NII). These data help astronomers to determine the environment within the galaxy and the conditions under which the stars are formed. Ionized hydrogen traces the formation of in progress stars, revealing regions where the young hot stars are the gas. Ionized nitrogen helps astronomers to determine the rate of stars formation and the properties of gas between the stars, while the combination of the two ionized gases helps researchers to determine whether the galaxy is a star galaxy or one with an active galactic nucleus.
The pink gas bubbles in this image surround hot, young and massive stars, illuminating a star formation ring in the outskirts of the galaxy. These young stars are always anchored in the gas clouds from which they were born. Astronomers will use the new data of this image to study how the stars are formed in the giant dusty gas clouds, how the dust filters the light of the stars and how the stars affect their environment.
Contact with the media::
Claire Andreol (Claire.andreoli@nasa.gov))
Nasa Goddard Space Flight Center,, Greenery belt, MD
