螺旋星系M66的哈勃影像

2021年02月24日

Spiral Galaxy M66 from Hubble
Image Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble, Janice Lee; Processing & Copyright: Leo Shatz; Text: Karen Masters

Explanation: It’s always nice to get a new view of an old friend. This stunning Hubble Space Telescope image of nearby spiral galaxy M66 is just that. A spiral galaxy with a small central bar, M66 is a member of the Leo Galaxy Triplet, a group of three galaxies about 30 million light years from us. The Leo Triplet is a popular target for relatively small telescopes, in part because M66 and its galactic companions M65 and NGC 3628 all appear separated by about the angular width of a full moon. The featured image of M66 was taken by Hubble to help investigate the connection between star formation and molecular gas clouds. Clearly visible are bright blue stars, pink ionized hydrogen clouds — sprinkled all along the outer spiral arms, and dark dust lanes in which more star formation could be hiding.

Tomorrow’s picture: open space

螺旋星系M66的哈勃影像
影像提供: NASA, ESA, Hubble, Janice Lee; 影像处理与版权: Leo Shatz; 文稿: Karen Masters

说明: 能见到老朋友的新照片真好。这幅哈勃太空望远镜拍摄的邻近螺旋星系M66之影像，就是案例之一。拥有小核心棒的螺旋星系M66，是距离我们约3千万光年远的狮子三重星系的成员之一。狮子三重星系是小望远镜巡天的热门标的，部分原因是M66和它的星系伙伴M65及NGC 3628之间，间隔大约都和满月的视张角相当。哈勃望远镜之所以拍摄这幅M66主题影像，目的在于探索恒星诞生与分子气体云之间的关联。影像中可清楚见到M66的外螺旋臂上，散布着明亮泛蓝恒星、粉红的电离氢气云、及其内可能有隐藏的恒星诞生之黝黑尘埃带。

明日的图片: open space