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Cartwheel Galaxy: Astronomers Do Flips Over Cartwheel Galaxy
This image combines data from four different observatories: the Chandra
X-ray Observatory (purple); the Galaxy Evolution Explorer satellite
(ultraviolet/blue); the Hubble Space Telescope (visible/green); the
Spitzer Space Telescope (infrared/red).
The unusual shape of the
Cartwheel Galaxy is likely due to a collision with one of the smaller
galaxies on the lower left several hundred million years ago.
The smaller galaxy produced compression waves in the gas of the
Cartwheel as it plunged through it. These compression waves trigger
bursts of star formation. The most recent star burst has lit up the
Cartwheel's rim, which has a diameter larger than that of the Milky Way
galaxy, with millions of bright young stars.
When the most massive of these stars explode as supernovas, they leave
behind neutron stars and black holes. Some of these neutron stars and
black holes have nearby companion stars, and have become powerful
sources of X-rays as they pull matter off their companions.
The brightest X-ray sources are likely black holes with companion stars,
and appear as the white dots that lie along the rim of the X-ray image.
The Cartwheel contains an exceptionally large number of these black hole
binary X-ray sources, because many massive stars formed in the rim.
| Fast Facts for Cartwheel Galaxy: |
| Credit |
Composite: NASA/JPL/Caltech/P.Appleton et al. X-ray: NASA/CXC/A.Wolter & G.Trinchieri et al. |
| Scale |
Image is 160 arcsec across |
| Category |
Normal Galaxies & Starburst Galaxies |
| Coordinates (J2000) |
RA 0h 37m 41.10s | Dec -33º 42' 58.80" |
| Constellation |
Sculptor |
| Observation Date |
26 May 2001
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| Observation Time |
21 hours |
| Obs. ID |
2019
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| Orientation |
North to the right, East is up. |
| Color Code |
Ultraviolet (blue), Optical (green), X-ray (purple), Infrared (red) |
| Instrument |
ACIS |
| References | X-ray: A. Wolter and G. Trinchieri, Astronomy and Astrophysics, v.426, p.787-796 (2004) |
| Distance Estimate |
About 400 million light years |
| Release Date |
January 11, 2006 |
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