The 19-year-old Hubble Space Telescope has undergone a refound youth. This image by the Wide Field Camera 3 is one example that shows the power of the observatory after the fourth servicing mission in May 2009. The group of five galaxies is known as Stephan's Quintet. The name is a bit of a misnomer because the bottom-left galaxy actually lies seven times closer to Earth than the rest of the group. Three galaxies have elongated spiral arms and long, gaseous tidal tails that contain new-born star clusters – proof of the galaxies' close encounters. The broad coverage of the new camera from visible to near-infrared light results in unprecedented colours that depict the various ages of the stars. Star-forming regions are blue or pink, while older stars trace the shape of the galaxies with an orange haze.
Image credit: NASA, ESA and the Hubble SM4 ERO Team.
CERN Courier
Oct 30, 2009
Picture of the month
About the author
Compiled by Marc Türler, INTEGRAL Science Data Centre and Observatory of Geneva University.