Hubble image archive
Large Magellanic Cloud (DSS View) with Star Cluster Overlay (Hubble)
Astronomers Use Hubble to Tighten the Cosmic Distance LadderThis is a ground-based telescope's view of the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of our Milky Way. The inset image, taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, reveals one of many star clusters scattered throughout the...
- Date
- Jan 1, 2019
- Mission
- Hubble Space Telescope
- Archive ID
- hubblesite-images-2019-25-4490-image
Astronomers Use Hubble to Tighten the Cosmic Distance Ladder
This is a ground-based telescope's view of the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of our Milky Way. The inset image, taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, reveals one of many star clusters scattered throughout the dwarf galaxy.
The cluster members include a special class of pulsating star called a Cepheid variable, which brightens and dims at a predictable rate that corresponds to its intrinsic brightness. Once astronomers determine that value, they can measure the light from these stars to calculate an accurate distance to the galaxy. When the new Hubble observations are correlated with an independent distance measurement technique to the Large Magellanic Cloud (using straightforward trigonometry), the researchers were able to strengthen the foundation of the so-called "cosmic distance ladder." This "fine-tuning" has significantly improved the accuracy of the rate at which the universe is expanding, called the Hubble constant.
Credits
NASA, ESA, A. Riess (STScI/JHU), and Palomar Digitized Sky SurveyImage Details
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | Large Magellanic Cloud (DSS View) with Star Cluster Overlay (Hubble) |
| Object Description | Cepheid Variable Star in Satellite Galaxy |
| R.A. Position | 05:08:43.95 |
| Dec. Position | -68:45:27.97 |
| Constellation | Dorado |
| Distance | 163,000 light-years |
| Dimensions | Main image is about 6 degrees across (about 17,000 light-years); Inset image is 0.6 arcmin across (about 30 light-years) |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | Data of cepheid variable stars in the LMC were obtained from the HST proposal (A. Riess) |
| Instrument | WFC3/UVIS |
| Exposure Dates | 14 Dec 2018 |
| Filters | F814W, F555W |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | These images are composites of separate exposures acquired by the WFC3 instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope. Several filters were used to sample 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: Blue: F555W (V) Green: F555W (V) and F814W (I) Red: F814W (I) |
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Image and source material are credited to the official mission archive linked below.
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