The thousand-ruby galaxy

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Color-composite image of the startling spiral galaxy Messier 83 made using data from the Wide Field Imager on the ESOMPG 2.2-m telescope at La Silla. The WFI stared at M83 for four periods of 25 minutes through different filters (B V R Halpha). The d ...
Color-composite image of the startling spiral galaxy Messier 83, made using data from the Wide Field Imager on the ESO/MPG 2.2-m telescope at La Silla. The WFI stared at M83 for four periods of 25 minutes through different filters (B, V, R, Halpha). The data were extracted from the ESO Science Archive and processed by Davide De Martin. The field of view covered by the image is about 17 x 17 arcmin. Credit: ESO
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ESO's Wide Field Imager has captured the intricate swirls of the spiral galaxy Messier 83, a smaller look-alike of our own Milky Way. Shining with the light of billions of stars and the ruby red glow of hydrogen gas, it is a beautiful example of a barred spiral galaxy, whose shape has led to it being nicknamed the Southern Pinwheel.


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All News summaries for September 02, 2008

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Nov 18, 2008 | User rating: not rated yet
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