Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 1300 in Multiple Light Wavelengths | ESO
This image of the nearby galaxy NGC 1300 was obtained by combining observations taken with the Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) on the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) and with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), in which ESO is a partner. NGC 1300 is a barred spiral galaxy, with a bar of stars and gas at its center, located approximately 61 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Eridanus. A barred spiral galaxy is a spiral galaxy with a central bar-shaped structure composed of stars.
This image is a combination of observations conducted at different wavelengths of light to map stellar populations and gas. ALMA’s observations are represented in brownish-orange tones and highlight the clouds of cold molecular gas that provide the raw material from which stars form. The MUSE data show up mainly in gold and blue. The bright golden glows map warm clouds of mainly ionized hydrogen, oxygen and sulphur gas, marking the presence of newly born stars, while the bluish regions reveal the distribution of slightly older stars.
The image was taken as part of the Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby GalaxieS (PHANGS) project, which is making high resolution observations of nearby galaxies with telescopes operating across the electromagnetic spectrum.
Credit: European Southern Observatory (ESO)/ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO)/PHANGS
Release Date: July 16, 2021
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