The new image of Messier 61, a spiral galaxy located in the constellation of Virgo, combines data taken at radio and visible wavelengths and is helping astronomers understand how stars form in galaxies.
This composite image shows Messier 61, a spiral galaxy located 52.5 million light-years away in the constellation of Virgo. Image credit: ESO / ALMA / NAOJ / NRAO / PHANGS.
Messier 61 resides approximately 52.5 million light-years away in the constellation of Virgo.
The galaxy has an apparent magnitude of 10.2, is most easily spotted during the month of May and can be observed using a small telescope.
Messier 61 is roughly the size of our own Milky Way Galaxy, with a diameter of around 100,000 light-years.
Otherwise known as M61, NGC 4303, LEDA 40001 and IRAS 12194+0444, it was discovered on May 5, 1779 by the Italian astronomer Barnaba Oriani.
French astronomer Charles Messier noticed it on the same night as Oriani, but he mistook the galaxy for a passing comet.
“The new image of Messier 61 combines data taken at radio and visible wavelengths, and is helping us understand how stars form in galaxies,” ESO astronomers said.
“The hypnotizing golden glow drawing you into the image corresponds to clouds of molecular gas, the raw material out of which stars form.”
“The data was taken with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA),” they added.
“The blueish regions in the background, on the other hand, were imaged with the Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope and they reveal already formed stars.”
“By comparing the distribution of gas and stars, astronomers are able to study what triggers, enhances or hampers the birth of new stars.”
“The image is part of the Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby GalaxieS (PHANGS) project, which is using ground-based and space telescopes to make detailed observations of nearby galaxies across the electromagnetic spectrum.”
