. 24/7 Space News .
Mission Captures Galaxies Galore

Desktop Available
  • 800X600     1024X768
  • 640x480     1280X1024
    This image is a Galaxy Evolution Explorer observation of the large galaxy in Andromeda, Messier 31. The Andromeda galaxy is the most massive in the local group of galaxies that includes our Milky Way. Andromeda is the nearest large galaxy to our own. The image is a mosaic of 10 separate Galaxy Evolution Explorer images taken in September, 2003. The color image (with near ultraviolet shown by red and far ultraviolet shown by blue) shows blue regions of young, hot, high mass stars tracing out the spiral arms where star formation is occurring, and the central orange-white "bulge" of old, cooler stars formed long ago. The star forming arms of Messier 31 are unusual in being quite circular rather than the usual spiral shape. Several companion galaxies can also be seen. These include Messier 32, a dwarf elliptical galaxy directly below the central bulge and just outside the spiral arms, and Messier 110 (M110), which is above and to the right of the center. M110 has an unusual far ultraviolet bright core in an otherwise "red", old star halo. Many other regions of star formation can be seen far outside the main body of the galaxy.

  • Greenbelt - Dec 11, 2003
    The most sensitive and comprehensive ultraviolet image ever taken of the Andromeda Galaxy, our nearest large neighbor galaxy, has been captured by NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer. The image is one of several being released to the public as part of the mission's first collection of pictures.

    "The Andromeda image gives us a snapshot of the most recent star formation episode," said Dr. Christopher Martin, Galaxy Evolution Explorer principal investigator and an astrophysics professor at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, which leads the mission. "By studying this view of the galaxy in the process of forming stars, we can better understand how that fundamental process works, such as where stars form, how fast and why."

    The image of Andromeda, the most distant object the naked eye can see, is a mosaic of nine images taken in September and October of 2003. It combines two ultraviolet colors, one near ultraviolet (red) and one far ultraviolet (blue).

    The new collection of images also includes views of several nearby galaxies; Stephan's Quintet of Galaxies; an all-sky survey image of the globular star cluster M2; and a deep image of the sky in the constellation Bootes.

    The Galaxy Evolution Explorer team is also releasing the first batch of scientific data, so the science community can propose additional observations for the mission. These images and data display the power of the Galaxy Evolution Explorer to collect sensitive ultraviolet images of large parts of the sky.

    "It's very rewarding and exciting for the team to see the fruits of their labors," said Kerry Erickson, the mission's project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. "Because people are accustomed to seeing objects in visible light, it's amazing to see how different the universe looks in ultraviolet and how much information is revealed to us by those observations."

    Scientists are interested in learning more about the Andromeda galaxy, including its brightness, mass, age, and the distribution of young star clusters in its spiral arms. This will provide a tremendous amount of information about the mechanisms of star formation in galaxies, and will help them interpret ultraviolet and infrared observations of other, more distant galaxies.

    The Galaxy Evolution Explorer launched on April 28, 2003. Its goal is to map the celestial sky in the ultraviolet and determine the history of star formation in the universe over the last 10 billion years.

    From its orbit high above Earth, the spacecraft will sweep the skies for up to 28 months using state-of-the-art ultraviolet detectors. Looking in the ultraviolet singles out galaxies dominated by young, hot, short-lived stars that give off a great deal energy at that wavelength. These galaxies are actively creating stars, and therefore provide a window into the history and causes of galactic star formation.

    In addition to leading the mission, Caltech is also responsible for science operations and data analysis. JPL, a division of Caltech, manages the mission and led the science instrument development. The mission is part of NASA's Explorers Program, managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. The mission's international partners are France and South Korea. Caltech manages JPL for NASA.

    Related Links
    Galaxy Evolution Explorer at JPL
    SpaceDaily
    Search SpaceDaily
    Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express



    Memory Foam Mattress Review
    Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
    XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


    It Could Have Been Worse
    Los Angeles - Nov 13, 2003
    Stanley Kubrick gave me my mission in life. When I saw his brilliant film 2001: A Space Odyssey on the big screen in Toledo, it changed my career goals. Every kid in 1968 wanted to become an astronaut. So did I, until that fateful trip to the big city. Instead, 2001 gave me an intense desire to become a high-level NASA manager like Heywood Floyd.







  • USU Wright Flyer To Fly On 100th Anniversary
  • Voyager 1 Approaching Edge Of Solar System: UI Physicist
  • White House Says "Premature" To Speculate About Lunar Plans
  • Pioneer 10 Thirty Years Into Interstellar Voyage

  • Mars Is Just Around The Corner
  • Odyssey Studies Changing Weather And Climate On Mars
  • Japan abandons Martian probe mission
  • Japan Poised To Abandon Martian Probe Mission

  • NASA Completes Successful Year Of ELV Launches
  • New National Security Mission to Fly on ILS/Lockheed Martin Atlas V
  • ILS Successfully Launches Atlas IIAS with NRO Payload
  • Preparations Underway For The Soyuz Launch Of AMOS-2

  • NASA Learning To Monitor Coral Reef Health From The Sky
  • Second GEO Meeting Highly Constructive
  • IKONOS Satellite Images Support Flood Relief Actions In Southern France
  • Study Reveals Complex Changes In West Antarctic Ice Streams

  • Pushing Out The Kuiper Belt
  • New Horizons Mission Team Plans Jupiter Encounter
  • Pluto Mission May Be Early Victim Of Growing Budget Crisis
  • Pluto Mission May Be Early Victim Of Growing Budget Crisis

  • Interstellar Hydrogen Shadow Observed For The First Time
  • Three-Ton Science Experiment To Cruise South Pole Skies For Cosmic Rays
  • NASA Selects SwRI Proposal To Study Interstellar Boundary
  • New View Of Milky Way In Gamma Rays

  • SMART-1 Is Flying At Full Speed
  • SMART-1 Is Changing Thrust Strategy To Avoid Long Eclipses
  • SMART-1 Keeps On Thrusting With Solar Heated Gas
  • Buyers Look To The Moon As Alternative To "Costly" Real Estate On Earth

  • DATAC Releases New Power Generator Monitor and Secure Tracker
  • Improved Guidance Systems For Missiles Will Reduce Collateral Damage
  • FullCircle Announces Rollout of Personal Emergency Response Systems (PERS)
  • SmartAntenna Gives Vehicles Fast GPS Fix

  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement