An irregular galaxy called ESO 174-1 resembles a lonely, hazy cloud against a backdrop of bright stars.
ESO 174-1 is located approximately 11 million light-years away from Earth in the constellation of Centaurus.
Otherwise known as IRAS 13301-5305 or LEDA 47728, the galaxy consists of a bright cloud of stars and a faint, meandering tendril of dark gas and dust.
“This image of ESO 174-1 from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope is part of a collection of observations that aims to get to know our nearby galactic neighbors,” Hubble astronomers said.
“To be more precise, the observations aim to resolve the brightest stars and basic properties of every known galaxy within 10 megaparsecs.”
“A parsec is a unit used by astronomers to measure the vast distances to other galaxies — 10 megaparsecs translates to 32 million light-years — and makes astronomical distances easier to handle,” they explained.
“For example, the nearest star to the Sun, Proxima Centauri, is about 1.3 parsecs away.”
“In everyday units this is a staggering 40 trillion kilometers!”
The color image of ESO 174-1 was made from separate exposures taken in the visible and near-infrared regions of the spectrum with Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS).
Two filters were used to sample various wavelengths. The color results from assigning different hues to each monochromatic image associated with an individual filter.
“The program to capture all of our neighboring galaxies was designed to use the 2-3% of Hubble time that absolutely no other observing program can use,” the astronomers said.
“Many of the myriad objects that Hubble observes can only be seen at certain times of year, which makes filling out the observatory’s schedule a daunting logistical challenge.”
“Observing programs such as the one which captured ESO 174-1 help Hubble’s operators get the most out of every last minute of observing time.”
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