by yaska77
The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has provided a close-up view of the galaxy Centaurus A, only obtainable in such detail because of Hubble’s position in orbit and its world-class Wide Field Camera 3 instrument.
Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA)-ESA/Hubble Collaboration. Acknowledgment: R. O’Connell (University of Virginia) and the WFC3 Scientific Oversight Committee
Centaurus A, also known as NGC 5128, is known for its dramatic dusty lanes of dark material. Hubble’s observations are the most detailed ever made of this galaxy, combined here in a multi-wavelength image that reveals never-before-seen detail in the dusty portion of the galaxy.
As well as features in the visible spectrum, this composite shows ultraviolet light from young stars, and near-infrared light, which lets us glimpse some of the detail otherwise obscured by the dust. The dark dust lanes that cross Centaurus A are not an absence of stars but a lack of visible starlight blocked by the opaque clouds.
Clicking the image above will open a new tab to the ESA Hubble fullsize image, or click here for more information.
Filed under: Astronomy, ESA, Galaxy, Hubble, NASA, Night sky, Stars, yaska77 Tagged: camera, Centaurus A, composite, dusty, ESA, galaxy, hubble, image, lanes, multi-wavelength, NASA, NGC 5128, photograph, postaweek2011, space, telescope, Wide Field
