Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Hubble Sees a Vapor of Stars
by Staff Writers
Baltimore MD (SPX) Jul 04, 2012


Image credit: ESA/NASA. For a larger version of this image please go here.

Relatively few galaxies possess the sweeping, luminous spiral arms or brightly glowing center of our home galaxy the Milky Way. In fact, most of the Universe's galaxies look like small, amorphous clouds of vapor. One of these galaxies is DDO 82, captured here in an image from the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.

Though tiny compared to the Milky Way, such dwarf galaxies still contain between a few million and a few billion stars.

DDO 82, also known by the designation UGC 5692, is not without a hint of structure, however. Astronomers classify it as an "Sm galaxy," or Magellanic spiral galaxy, named after the Large Magellanic Cloud, a dwarf galaxy that orbits the Milky Way. That galaxy, like DDO 82, is said to have one spiral arm.

In the case of DDO 82, gravitational interactions over its history seem to have discombobulated it so that this structure is not as evident as in the Large Magellanic Cloud. Accordingly, astronomers also refer to DDO 82 and others of a similar unshapely nature as dwarf irregular galaxies.

DDO 82 can be found in the constellation of Ursa Major (the Great Bear) approximately 13 million light-years away. The object is considered part of the M81 Group of around three dozen galaxies.

DDO 82 gets its name from its entry number in the David Dunlap Observatory Catalogue. Canadian astronomer Sidney van den Bergh originally compiled this list of dwarf galaxies in 1959.

The image is made up of exposures taken in visible and infrared light by Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys. The field of view is approximately 3.3 by 3.3 arcminutes.

.


Related Links
Hubble Science
Stellar Chemistry, The Universe And All Within It






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Has the Speediest Pulsar Been Found?
Huntsville AL (SPX) Jul 02, 2012
Researchers using three different telescopes - NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and ESA's XMM-Newton in space, and the Parkes radio telescope in Australia - may have found the fastest moving pulsar ever seen. The evidence for this potentially record-breaking speed comes, in part, from the features highlighted in this composite image. X- ray observations from Chandra (green) and XMM-Newton ... read more


STELLAR CHEMISTRY
ESA to catch laser beam from Moon mission

Researchers Estimate Ice Content of Crater at Moon's South Pole

Researchers find evidence of ice content at the moon's south pole

Nanoparticles found in moon glass bubbles explain weird lunar soil behaviour

STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Fireworks Over Mars: The Spirit of 76 Pyrotechnics

Martian moon Phobos could be life clue

Exhumed rocks reveal Mars water ran deep

Houston Workshop Marks Key Step in Planning Future Mars Missions

STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Orion's First Test Flight Offers SLS a First Look at Hardware Operation, Integration

The Road to Space

NASA Unveils Orion During Ceremony

Boeing Validates Performance of CST Vehicle's Attitude Control Engine

STELLAR CHEMISTRY
China open to cooperation

China set to launch bigger space program

Nation has long way to go as space power

An inspiring mission

STELLAR CHEMISTRY
ESA astronaut Andre Kuipers returns to Earth

First Annual ISS Research and Development Conference in Review

Three astronauts land on Earth from ISS in Russian capsule

ISS crew rests before return to Earth

STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Avanti Announces Launch Date for HYLAS 2 Satellite

Three Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne RS-68A Engines Power Delta IV Heavy Upgrade Vehicle on Inaugural Flight

ULA Delta IV Heavy Launches Second Payload in Nine Days for the NRO

ATK Completes Software TIM for Liberty under NASA's Commercial Crew Program

STELLAR CHEMISTRY
New Planet-weighing Technique Found

Innovative technique enables scientists to learn more about elusive exoplanet

Dramatic change spotted on a faraway planet

New Way of Probing Exoplanet Atmospheres

STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Deep-sea rare earths found in Japan

Toshiba fined in US antitrust case

Tablet PCs poised to take over PC market

SACLA draws acclaim for unique XFEL design




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement