File:Galaxy full of cosmic lighthouses (25761852047).jpg
Original file (1,280 × 960 pixels, file size: 188 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)
Captions
Summary
[edit]DescriptionGalaxy full of cosmic lighthouses (25761852047).jpg |
This enchanting spiral galaxy can be found in the constellation of Ursa Major (the Great Bear). Star-studded NGC 3972 lies about 65 million light-years away from the Earth, meaning that the light that we see now left it 65 million years ago, just when the dinosaurs became extinct. More information: <a href="https://www.spacetelescope.org/images/potw1810a/" rel="nofollow">www.spacetelescope.org/images/potw1810a/</a> Credit: NASA, ESA, A. Riess (STScI/JHU) |
Date | |
Source | Galaxy full of cosmic lighthouses |
Author | Hubble ESA |
Licensing
[edit]- You are free:
- to share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work
- to remix – to adapt the work
- Under the following conditions:
- attribution – You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
This image was originally posted to Flickr by Hubble Space Telescope / ESA at https://flickr.com/photos/51268976@N08/25761852047. It was reviewed on 7 December 2020 by FlickreviewR 2 and was confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the cc-by-2.0. |
7 December 2020
File history
Click on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time.
Date/Time | Thumbnail | Dimensions | User | Comment | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
current | 15:19, 7 December 2020 | 1,280 × 960 (188 KB) | Eyes Roger (talk | contribs) | Transferred from Flickr via #flickr2commons |
You cannot overwrite this file.
File usage on Commons
There are no pages that use this file.
Metadata
This file contains additional information such as Exif metadata which may have been added by the digital camera, scanner, or software program used to create or digitize it. If the file has been modified from its original state, some details such as the timestamp may not fully reflect those of the original file. The timestamp is only as accurate as the clock in the camera, and it may be completely wrong.
JPEG file comment | This enchanting spiral galaxy can be found in the constellation of Ursa Major (the Great Bear). Star-studded NGC 3972 lies about 65 million light-years away from the Earth, meaning that the light that we see now left it 65 million years ago, just when the dinosaurs became extinct. NGC 3972 has had its fair share of dramatic events. In 2011 astronomers observed the explosion of a type Ia supernova in the galaxy (not visible in this image). These dazzling objects all peak at the same brightness, and are brilliant enough to be seen over large distances. NGC 3972 also contains many pulsating stars called Cepheid variables. These stars change their brightness at a rate matched closely to their intrinsic luminosity, making them ideal cosmic lighthouses for measuring accurate distances to relatively nearby galaxies. Astronomers search for Cepheid variables in nearby galaxies which also contain a type Ia supernova so they can compare the true brightness of both types of stars. That brightness information is used to calibrate the luminosity of Type Ia supernovae in far-flung galaxies so that astronomers can calculate the galaxies' distances from Earth. Once astronomers know accurate distances to galaxies near and far, they can determine and refine the expansion rate of the Universe. This image was taken in 2015 with Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3, as part of a project to improve the precision of the Hubble constant — a figure that describes the expansion rate of the Universe. |
---|