Hubble image archive

Spiral Galaxy UGC 2885

This Hubble Space Telescope photograph showcases the majestic spiral galaxy UGC 2885, located 232 million light-years away in the northern constellation Perseus. The galaxy is 2.5 times wider than our Milky Way and contains 10 times as many stars. A number of foreground stars in...

Date
Jan 1, 2020
Mission
Hubble Space Telescope
Archive ID
hubblesite-images-2020-01-4615-image
By

This Hubble Space Telescope photograph showcases the majestic spiral galaxy UGC 2885, located 232 million light-years away in the northern constellation Perseus. The galaxy is 2.5 times wider than our Milky Way and contains 10 times as many stars. A number of foreground stars in our Milky Way can be seen in the image, identified by their diffraction spikes. The brightest star photobombs the galaxy's disk. The galaxy has been nicknamed "Rubin's galaxy," after astronomer Vera Rubin (1928 – 2016), who studied the galaxy's rotation rate in search of dark matter.

Credits

Image

NASA, ESA, Benne Holwerda (University of Louisville)

Image Details

About The Object
Object NameUGC 2885
Object DescriptionLarge Spiral Galaxy
R.A. Position03:53:02.46
Dec. Position+35:35:22.17
ConstellationPerseus
Distance232 million light-years
DimensionsImage is 5 arcmin across (about 338,000 light-years).
About The Data
Data DescriptionThe HST observations include those from program (B. Holwerda).
InstrumentWFC3/UVIS
Exposure DatesDec 2017 - Jan 2019
FiltersF435W, F606W, F814W
About The Image
Color InfoThese images are a composite of separate exposures acquired by the WFC3/UVIS instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope. Several filters were used to sample narrow 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: F435W Green: F606W Red: F814W

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Source

Image and source material are credited to the official mission archive linked below.

View on NASA.gov

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