Hubble image archive
Construction of the Great Observatories M101 Image
These steps combine data from NASA's three Great Observatories into a single color composite image. At the left are separate images from three different regions of infrared light from the Spitzer Space Telescope, three images from different regions of visible light from the Hubbl...
- Date
- Jan 1, 2009
- Mission
- Hubble Space Telescope
- Archive ID
- hubblesite-images-2009-07-2482-image
These steps combine data from NASA's three Great Observatories into a single color composite image. At the left are separate images from three different regions of infrared light from the Spitzer Space Telescope, three images from different regions of visible light from the Hubble Space Telescope, and three different regions of x-ray light from the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The three images from each observatory are combined into a single black and white image representing the light from that part of the spectrum. Each of these images is assigned a color: red for infrared light, yellow for visible light, and blue for x-ray light. These three separate color images can blend together to see the light from a very broad range of light energy in one image.
Credits
NASA, ESA, and Z. Levay (STScI)Image Details
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | M101, NGC 5457, The Pinwheel Galaxy |
| Object Description | Face-on Spiral Galaxy |
| R.A. Position | 14h 3m 13.0s |
| Dec. Position | 54° 20' 52.99" |
| Constellation | Ursa Major |
| Distance | 21.8 million light-years (6.7 megaparsecs) |
| Dimensions | This image is 18 arcminutes (114,000 light-years or 35,000 parsecs) wide. |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | Spitzer data: The science team for the Spitzer data include K. Gordon (STScI), C. Engelbracht, G. Rieke, K. Misselt, and J.-D. Smith (University of Arizona), and R. Kennicutt (University of Cambridge). Hubble data: This image was created from HST data from the following proposals: : K. Kuntz (Johns Hopkins University) : F. Bresolin (University of Hawaii) : J. Trauger (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) : J. Mould (NOAO) : Y.-C. Chu (University of Illinois, Urbana) The Hubble exposures have been superimposed onto ground-based images, visible at the edge of the image, taken at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope in Hawaii, and at the 0.9-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory, part of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory in Arizona. Chandra data: The science team was led by K. Kuntz (Johns Hopkins University). |
| Instrument | Spitzer>IRAC, Spitzer>MIPS, HST>ACS/WFC, HST>WFPC2, and CXO>ACIS |
| Exposure Dates | Mar 8, 2004 and May 10/11, 2004 (Spitzer), March 1994, September 1994, June 1999, November 2002, and January 2003 (HST), and March 2000 - January 2005 (CXO) |
| Filters | Spitzer: 85 sec/pixel (IRAC and 200 sec/pixel (MIPS 24 micron) HST: F435W (B), F555W (V)), and F814W (I) CXO Energies: 0.45 - 1.00 keV and 1.00 - 2.00 keV |
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Image and source material are credited to the official mission archive linked below.
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