螺旋星系NGC 2841

2023年3月23日

Spiral Galaxy NGC 2841
Image Credit & Copyright: Roberto Marinoni

Explanation: A mere 46 million light-years distant, spiral galaxy NGC 2841 can be found in planet Earth’s night sky toward the northern constellation of Ursa Major. This sharp image centered on the gorgeous island universe also captures spiky foreground Milky Way stars and more distant background galaxies within the same telescopic field of view. It shows off the bright nucleus of NGC 2841, along with its inclined galactic disk, and faint outer regions. Dust lanes, small star-forming regions, and young star clusters are embedded in the galaxy’s patchy, tightly wound spiral arms. In contrast, many other spirals exhibit broader, sweeping arms with large star-forming regions. NGC 2841 has a diameter of over 150,000 light-years, making it even larger than our own Milky Way. X-ray images suggest that extreme outflows from giant stars and stellar explosions create plumes of hot gas extending into a halo around NGC 2841.

Tomorrow’s picture: pixels in space

螺旋星系NGC 2841
图像提供与版权: Roberto Marinoni

说明: 位在地球夜空中大熊座方向的螺旋星系NGC 2841，距离我们只有4千6百万光年远。在上面这幅以此壮丽宇宙岛为主题的清晰图像里，出现于这片望远镜视野里的带芒银河系前景恒星及更遥远的背景星系也一同入镜。图像除了突显它醒目的星系核、侧倾星系盘及昏暗的外晕之外，也呈现镶缀在片状紧密缠绕旋臂上的尘埃带、细小粉红恒星形成区和年轻星团。相较之下，许多其他具有宏伟广袤旋臂的螺旋星系，上头通常镶缀着庞大的恒星形成区。NGC 2841的直径超过150,000光年，比我们的银河系还要大。X射线波段的图像显示，此星系的巨星之恒星风及爆炸所产生的强烈外泛流，产生许多伸入星系NGC 2841外晕的炽热羽状气流。

明日的图片: pixels in space