NASA has released a stunning image snapped by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope of the small galaxy LEDA 31961.
LEDA 31961. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble.
LEDA 31961, also known as ESO 376-16, lies 22.6 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation Antlia.
Astronomers are still debating about many of the properties of this galaxy, including its morphology.
Galaxies are divided into types based on their visual appearance and characteristics: spiral galaxies are flattened discs with curved arms sweeping out from a central nucleus, while irregular galaxies lack a distinct structure and look far more chaotic.
On the basis of its rather ill-defined morphology, LEDA 31961 is thought to be either a late-type spiral or a dwarf irregular galaxy.
Despite its mystique, observations of LEDA 31961 have been useful in several studies, including one made with Hubble that aimed to create a 3D map of galaxies lying in the vicinity of Earth.
Astronomers used Hubble to gauge the distance to galaxies including LEDA 31961 by measuring the luminosities of especially bright red-giant-branch stars sitting within the galaxies.
They then used their data to generate and calibrate 3D maps of the distribution of galaxies throughout the nearby cosmos.
The newly released image of LEDA 31961 was made from separate exposures taken in the visible and near-infrared regions of the spectrum with Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS).
It is based on data obtained through two filters: a wide V-band (F606W) filter and a near-infrared (F814W) filter.
The color results from assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter.
