Stephan's Quintet
Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble SM4 ERO Team
Posted on 09/11/2009 10:42:15 AM PDT by sig226
Explanation: The first identified compact galaxy group, Stephan's Quintet is featured in this stunning image from the newly upgraded Hubble Space Telescope. About 300 million light-years away, only four galaxies of the group are actually locked in a cosmic dance of repeated close encounters. The odd man out is easy to spot, though. The four interacting galaxies (NGC 7319, 7318A, 7318B, and 7317) have an overall yellowish cast and tend to have distorted loops and tails, grown under the influence of disruptive gravitational tides. But the bluish galaxy at the upper left (NGC 7320) is much closer than the others. A mere 40 million light-years distant, it isn't part of the interacting group. In fact, individual stars in the foreground galaxy can be seen in the sharp Hubble image, hinting that it is much closer than the others. Stephan's Quintet lies within the boundaries of the high flying constellation Pegasus.
Awesome!!
Thanks again.
WOW!
Just..wow!
and here I thought the previous Hubble pics were awesome, these new ones have been mind blowing!
Thank you Sig.
It would be so beautiful to be sitting in an arm of one of the pair in the middle and look up and see a sky full of another galaxy at night.
It’d be like having Andromeda sitting a hundred light years away
I refuse to beleive it’s real .... /sarc
Hubba Hubba Hubble!
Stunning indeed.
Sig, I love being on this ping list. Thank you!
I second that.
Wanted to give you a ‘heads up’!
National Geographic Channel (DirecTV) is showing a program called “HUBBLE’S AMAZING UNIVERSE”
FANTASTIC! ESPECIALLY IN HI-DEF!!
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