Hunger Pangs
The subject of this Picture of the Week, a spiral galaxy named NGC 1589, was once the scene of a violent bout of cosmic hunger pangs; as astronomers looked on, a poor, hapless star was torn apart and devoured by the ravenous supermassive black hole at the centre of the galaxy.
The astronomers are now using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to test this interpretation. Hubble has observed such events before so the scientists are confident that Hubble will be able to provide smoking gun evidence in the form of stellar debris that was ejected during the disruption event.
Credit:ESA/Hubble & NASA
About the Image
Id: | potw2010a |
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Type: | Observation |
Release date: | 9 March 2020, 06:00 |
Size: | 1942 x 1746 px |
About the Object
Name: | NGC 1589 |
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Type: | Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Spiral |
Distance: | 150 million light years |
Constellation: | Taurus |
Category: | Galaxies |
Wallpapers
1024x768
185.7 KB
1280x1024
319.4 KB
1600x1200
487.8 KB
1920x1200
598.1 KB
2048x1536
713.0 KB
Coordinates
Position (RA): | 4 30 44.94 |
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Position (Dec): | 0° 51' 42.73" |
Field of view: | 1.28 x 1.15 arcminutes |
Orientation: | North is 69.2° left of vertical |
Colours & filters
Band | Wavelength | Telescope |
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Optical g | 475 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFC3 |
Optical I | 814 nm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFC3 |
Infrared H | 1.6 μm |
Hubble Space Telescope
WFC3 |