Hubble image archive
Galaxy UGC 9391
This Hubble Space Telescope image shows one of the galaxies in the survey to refine the measurement for how fast the universe expands with time, called the Hubble constant.The galaxy, UGC 9391, contains two types of stars that astronomers use to calculate accurate distances to ga...
- Date
- Jan 1, 2016
- Mission
- Hubble Space Telescope
- Archive ID
- hubblesite-images-2016-17-3738-image
This Hubble Space Telescope image shows one of the galaxies in the survey to refine the measurement for how fast the universe expands with time, called the Hubble constant.
The galaxy, UGC 9391, contains two types of stars that astronomers use to calculate accurate distances to galaxies, a key measurement in determining the Hubble constant. The red circles mark the locations of Cepheid variable stars. These stars pulsate at rates that correspond to their true brightness, which can be compared with their apparent brightness as seen from Earth to accurately determine their distance.
The blue "X" at bottom right denotes the location of supernova 2003du, a special class of exploding star called a Type Ia supernova. These supernovae are another commonly used cosmic yardstick. They flare with the same brightness and are brilliant enough to be seen from relatively longer distances. Astronomers calibrate the supernovae with the Cepheids in galaxies such as UGC 9391 so that they can accurately calculate the distances to faraway exploding stars. UGC 9391 resides 130 million light-years from Earth.
The observations for this composite image were taken between 2012 and 2013 by Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3.
Credits
NASA, ESA, and A. Riess (STScI/JHU)Image Details
| About The Object | |
|---|---|
| Object Name | UGC 9391 |
| Object Description | Barred spiral galaxy |
| R.A. Position | 14h 34m 37.02s |
| Dec. Position | 59° 20' 16.11" |
| Constellation | Draco |
| Distance | 130 million light-years (40 million parsecs) |
| About The Data | |
| Data Description | Data were provided by the HST proposal : A. Riess (JHU/STScI), L. Macri (Texas A&M University), A. Filippenko (University of California, Berkeley), S. Jha (Rutgers), S. Casertano (STScI), P. Nugent (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory), and M. Ganeshalingam (University of California, Berkeley). The science team comprises: A. Riess (JHU/STScI), L. Macri and S. Hoffmann (Texas A&M University), D. Scolnic (JHU/University of Chicago), S. Casertano (STScI), A. Filippenko (University of California, Berkeley), B. Tucker (University of California, Berkeley/Mount Stromlo Observatory), M. Reid (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), D. Jones (JHU), J. Silverman (University of Texas, Austin), R. Chornock (Ohio University, Athens), P. Challis (Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics), W. Yuan (Texas A&M University), and R. Foley (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign). |
| Instrument | HST>WFC3/UVIS |
| Exposure Dates | December 2012 - March 2013 |
| Filters | F350LP, F555W (V), and F814W (I) |
| About The Image | |
| Color Info | This image is a composite of separate exposures acquired by the WFC3/UVIS instrument. Several filters were used to sample various wavelengths. 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: F350LP Red: F814W (I) |
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Source
Image and source material are credited to the official mission archive linked below.
View on NASA.gov