The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured the brilliance of the barred spiral galaxy NGC 3568.
This Hubble image shows NGC 3568, a barred spiral galaxy some 57 million light-years away in the constellation of Centaurus. The color image is made up of observations from Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) and Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) instruments in the ultraviolet, near-infrared, and optical parts of the spectrum. It is based on data obtained through three filters. The color results from assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / M. Sun.
NGC 3568 is located some 57 million light-years away in the constellation of Centaurus.
Otherwise known as AGC 27752, ESO 377-20, LEDA 33952 and IRAS 11084-3710, the galaxy was discovered on April 21, 1835, by the English astronomer John Herschel.
NGC 3568 is a member of the NGC 3557 group, a collection of 12 galaxies.
“In 2014, the light from a supernova explosion in NGC 3568 reached Earth,” Hubble astronomers said.
“Whilst most astronomical discoveries are the work of teams of professional astronomers, this supernova — dubbed 2014dw — was discovered by amateur astronomers from the Backyard Observatory Supernova Search in New Zealand.”
“Dedicated amateur astronomers often make intriguing discoveries — particularly of fleeting astronomical phenomena such as supernovae.”
The Hubble observation of NGC 3568 comes from a hoard of data built up to pave the way for future science with the upcoming NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope.
“By combining ground-based observations with data from Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) and Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3), we’ve built a treasure trove of data on the connections between young stars and the clouds of cold gas in which they form,” the researchers said.
“One of Webb’s key science goals is to explore the life cycle of stars — particularly how and where stars are born.”
“Since Webb observes at infrared wavelengths, it will be able to peer through the clouds of gas and dust in stellar nurseries and observe the fledgling stars within.”
“Webb’s superb sensitivity will even allow astronomers to directly investigate faint protostellar cores — the earliest stages of star birth.”
