SuperBIT观测到碰撞的触须星系

This view of the Antennae Galaxies, two large galaxies colliding 60 million light-years away, is one of the first research images from the Super Pressure Balloon Imaging Telescope (SuperBIT) that launched on a scientific super pressure balloon April 16, 2023 (local time New Zealand). This image and one of the Tarantula Nebula were captured as the balloon-borne telescope floated at 108,000 feet (approximately 20.5 miles or 33 km) above Earth’s surface, allowing scientists to view these scientific targets from a balloon platform in a near-space environment.

The SuperBIT telescope captures images of galaxies in the visible-to-near ultraviolet light spectrum, which is within the Hubble Space Telescope’s capabilities, but with a wider field of view. SuperBIT’s goal is to map dark matter around galaxy clusters by measuring the way these massive objects warp the space around them.

Image Credit: NASA, Durham University

这张触须星系的照片是两个大型星系在6,000万光年外相撞，是超压气球成像望远镜（SuperBIT）的首批研究图像之一，该望远镜于2023年4月16日（新西兰当地时间）在一个科学超压气球上发射。这幅图像和其中一幅狼蛛星云是在球载望远镜漂浮在地球表面上方108,000英尺（约20.5英里或33公里）时拍摄，这使得科学家们能够从近太空环境中的气球平台上观测这些科学目标。

SuperBIT望远镜可以拍摄到可见光到近紫外光谱的星系图像，这是哈勃太空望远镜的能力范围，但视野更广。SuperBIT的目标是通过观测这些大质量物体扭曲周围空间的方式来绘制星系团周围的暗物质地图。

影像来源：NASA, Durham University