This spectacular image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope shows the beautiful beauty of an irregular galaxy located 28.7 million light-years from Earth in the Eridanus galaxy. ESO 300-16 is composed of many small stars, and its ghostly allure is enhanced by the presence of a fascinating group of distant galaxies and foreground stars.
This image, taken by Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Exploration, is not just a skyscape, it’s part of a larger astronomical quest to familiarize ourselves with our galactic neighbors.
Hubble has observed three-quarters of the galaxies believed to reside within 10 megaparsecs of Earth, with enough detail to resolve their brightest stars and determine their distances. In this continuing effort, a team of astronomers proposed using brief intervals in Hubble’s observing table to reveal the remaining quarter of nearby galaxies.
A megaparsec, equal to one million parsecs, is an astronomical unit used to measure the incomprehensible vast distances of space. As the Earth orbits the Sun, the positions of stars change slightly relative to more distant stars, a process known as parallax. Parallax is measured in angular units: degrees, minutes and seconds.
A parsec is a parallax of one arcsecond and is approximately equal to 3.26 light years or 30.9 trillion kilometers. For perspective, the closest known exoplanet to the Sun, Proxima Centauri b, is 1.3 parsecs away.
Our ESA/Hubble image of the week features Galaxy ESO 300-16, a ghostly cluster of stars resembling a bright cloud.✨ Read more: 🔗 or https://t.co/fjlKaRXuQn🧵👇 pic.twitter.com/fTj366A4to
— Hubble (@HUBBLE_space) August 21, 2023
The Hubble Space Telescope has redefined our understanding of the universe since its launch in 1990. This iconic telescope is an invaluable asset to astronomers and the scientific community, providing a front-row seat to the wonders of the universe through its remarkable images and data. .
„Oddany rozwiązywacz problemów. Przyjazny hipsterom praktykant bekonu. Miłośnik kawy. Nieuleczalny introwertyk. Student.