Despite a recent mechanical breakdown, the Hubble Telescope continues to provide an amazing perspective of the galaxy (picture).
The venerable but unwavering Hubble Space Telescope has sent back another breathtaking image of a far-off galaxy.
The barred spiral galaxy NGC 3059, located around 57 million light-years from Earth, is seen in this image from Hubble’s most recent observation. According to a NASA statement, the image, which was made public on June 7, was captured in May using the Wide Field Camera 3 instrument on the space telescope as part of a larger galactic study.
For its observations, the space telescope employs a variety of filters, each of which permits only particular light wavelengths to reach the telescope’s equipment. This new image of NGC 3059 reveals bluish areas with various stellar populations and pinkish star-forming regions in the galaxy, combining information from narrow and wide-band filters.
While wide-band filters allow astronomers to isolate certain regions of the electromagnetic spectrum and capture a larger variety of wavelengths, narrow-band filters are used to study H-alpha emissions. According to the statement, the data from various filters may be combined to provide comprehensive photographs of cosmic objects from around the universe, such as NGC 3059.
