A spectacular new image, taken with the Nicholas U. Mayall 4-m Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory, shows the spiral galaxy NGC 1003 and a collection of more distant and fainter galaxies.
A long-exposure observation lasting 70 min from the Nicholas U. Mayall 4-m Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory, a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab, reveals NGC 1003 in glorious detail. This spiral galaxy resides in front of a galaxy cluster and the long exposure time of this deep observation allowed usually overlooked red background cluster galaxies to be captured. Image credit: KPNO / NOIRLab / NSF / AURA / Maria T. Patterson, New Mexico State University / Travis Rector, University of Alaska Anchorage / Mahdi Zamani & Davide de Martin.
NGC 1003 is located about 28 million light-years away in the constellation of Perseus.
Also known as LEDA 10052 and UGC 2137, the galaxy was discovered by the German-British astronomer William Herschel in 1784.
NGC 1003 is a member of the NGC 1023 group, an accumulation of about 70 massive and dwarf galaxies.
“While NGC 1003 makes for a spectacular sight, it is only one of many galaxies captured in this image,” said astronomers from NSF’s NOIRLab.
“Upon closer inspection, other galaxies can also be seen strewn throughout the image, with everything from delicate spiral galaxies to hundreds of fuzzy, red elliptical galaxies lurking in the background.”
“The long exposure time of this deep observation allowed these usually overlooked background cluster galaxies to be captured in breathtaking detail.”
Deep images such as this one have had an important role in shaping our understanding of the Universe.
In 1995, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope famously observed a tiny, nondescript patch of sky for 10 days to create the Hubble Deep Field.
The observations revealed thousands of distinct galaxies, showing that our Universe is a surprisingly crowded place.
“While the Hubble team deliberately avoided bright galaxies for their observation, this ground-based observation is littered with galaxies of all shapes and sizes, a spectacular backdrop for this portrait of NGC 1003,” the astronomers said.
“As well as revealing the host of background galaxies, the long exposure time of this observation allowed us to capture the faint outer reaches of NGC 1003, which are threaded through with bright tendrils of stars.”
