Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have unveiled a beautiful image of the massive lenticular galaxy NGC 1023.
This Hubble image shows NGC 1023, a barred lenticular galaxy some 36 million light-years away in the constellation of Perseus. Image credit: NASA / ESA / G. Sivakoff, University of Alberta / G. Kober, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center / Catholic University of America.
NGC 1023 is located about 36 million light-years away in the constellation of Perseus.
The galaxy was discovered on October 18, 1786 by the German-born British astronomer Wilhelm Herschel.
Otherwise known as LEDA 10123, UGC 2154 and Arp 135, it has a diameter of about 60,000 light years and is classified as a barred lenticular galaxy.
“Lenticular galaxies get their names from their edge-on appearance that resembles a lens,” Hubble astronomers said.
“They are intermediate galaxies between ellipticals and spirals.”
“Lenticular galaxies have a large central bulge and a flattened disk like spirals, but no spiral arms.”
“Like ellipticals, they don’t have much gas and dust, and also have mainly old stars.”
NGC 1023 is a member of the NGC 1023 galaxy group in the Local Supercluster.
“NGC 1023 is not alone in this image,” the astronomers said.
“The fuzzy blue patch to the lower left of the galaxy is NGC 1023a, an irregular satellite galaxy of its large lenticular neighbor.”
“The galaxy pair was part of a study that looked at multiple star systems and star clusters in galaxies beyond our own Milky Way.”
In the study, a total of 81 long-lived open clusters and 27 young blue star clusters were found in NGC 1023’s.
“Half of the young blue star clusters are associated with the satellite galaxy, while the rest are spatially associated with the neutral hydrogen gas that surrounds the large lenticular galaxy,” the researchers said.
This new image is made up of observations from Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) in the infrared and optical parts of the spectrum.
Several filters were used to sample various wavelengths. The color results from assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter.
“Additional gap-filling data provided by the Pan-STARRS Collaboration,” the scientists said.
“The color blue represents visible blue light while the color orange represents near infrared light.”
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