Skip to main content

Hubble's Glimpse: UGC 11105, a Dim yet Distinct Spiral Galaxy, Captured in Striking Detail.

Image
By Surendra Uikey

 


This Hubble Space Telescope image captures the beauty of the spiral galaxy UGC 11105 in both visible and ultraviolet wavelengths.


The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has cast its gaze upon the softly luminous spiral galaxy UGC 11105, situated approximately 110 million light-years away in the constellation Hercules.


Astronomers employ various methods to quantify the brightness of celestial objects, with apparent magnitude being a key metric. This measure reflects how bright an object appears to an Earth-based observer and is influenced by the object's proximity to Earth. Drawing an analogy to streetlights, where lampposts emitting the same amount of light appear differently bright depending on their distance, helps illustrate the concept. UGC 11105 boasts an apparent magnitude of approximately 13.6 in visible or optical light, perceptible to our eyes.


However, this Hubble image extends beyond visible light, incorporating ultraviolet data to unveil wavelengths beyond human perception. Despite its entire galactic nature, UGC 11105 appears remarkably dim compared to the Sun, which, due to its proximity and our Earthly perspective, shines about 14 thousand trillion times brighter. The Hubble Space Telescope's unique vantage point, situated above Earth's distorting atmosphere, enables it to capture the subtle brilliance of objects like UGC 11105 in visible light, ultraviolet light, and a select portion of infrared light.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

JWST Just Dropped a Space Banger – Meet HH 30, the Cosmic Baby Star with an Attitude!

By Surendra Uikey
  🚀Hubble Found It, Webb Flexed on It! NASA, ESA, and CSA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) just hit us with another mind-blowing “Picture of the Month,” and this time, it’s all about HH 30 —a baby star with a dramatic flair! Sitting pretty in the Taurus Molecular Cloud, this young star is rocking a protoplanetary disc that’s literally glowing with potential future planets. And oh, it’s got some serious jets and a disc wind to show off!   💫 What’s So Special About HH 30? Ever heard of Herbig-Haro objects? No? Cool, neither did most of us until now! These are glowing gas clouds marking the tantrums of young stars as they spit out jets of gas at supersonic speeds. HH 30 is one of them, but with a twist—it’s a prototype edge-on disc, meaning we get a front-row seat to the magic of planet formation!   📡 Webb, Hubble & ALMA—The Ultimate Space Detective Team.   To break down HH 30’s secrets, astronomers went full detective mode using:   ✔️...
Post a Comment
Read more

Solar Storm Shocker: Earth Gets a Cosmic Makeover with Two New Radiation Belts!

By Surendra Uikey
  The May 2024 solar storm formed two new radiation belts between the Van Allen Belts, with one containing protons, creating a unique composition never observed before. Picture this: May 2024, the Sun throws a massive tantrum, sending a solar storm hurtling toward Earth. The result? Stunning auroras light up the skies, GPS systems go haywire, and—wait for it—Earth gets two brand-new *temporary* radiation belts! That’s right, our planet just got a cosmic upgrade, thanks to the largest solar storm in two decades. And no, this isn’t a sci-fi movie plot—it’s real science, folks!   Thanks to NASA’s Colorado Inner Radiation Belt Experiment (CIRBE) satellite, scientists discovered these new belts, which are like Earth’s Van Allen Belts’ quirky cousins. Published on February 6, 2025, in the *Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics*, this discovery is a game-changer for space research, especially for protecting satellites and astronauts from solar storm shenanigans. ...
Post a Comment
Read more

NASA/ESA Hubble Telescope Captures Image of Supernova to Aid Distance Measurements.

By Surendra Uikey
  The Hubble Space Telescope has recently captured a striking image of a supernova-hosting galaxy, located approximately 600 million light-years away in the constellation Gemini. This image, taken about two months after the discovery of supernova SN 2022aajn, reveals a bright blue dot at the center, signifying the explosive event. Although SN 2022aajn was first announced in November 2022, it has not yet been the subject of extensive research. However, Hubble's interest in this particular supernova lies in its classification as a Type Ia supernova, a type that is key to measuring cosmic distances. Type Ia supernovae occur when a star's core collapses, and they are particularly useful for astronomers because they have a predictable intrinsic brightness. No matter how far away a Type Ia supernova is, it emits the same amount of light. By comparing its observed brightness to this known luminosity, astronomers can calculate how far away the supernova — and its host galaxy — are from...
Post a Comment
Read more