Hubble Space Telescope Views NGC 5253 with ACS / HRC

[AVAO]

Hubble Space Telescope Views NGC 5253 with ACS / HRC
NASA/ESA | Original release 2024 June 28

This Hubble image shows NGC 5253, a blue compact dwarf galaxy some 11 million light-years away in the constellation of Centaurus. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / A. Zezas / D. Calzetti.

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This image depicts the blue compact dwarf galaxy NGC 5253, as seen by the High Resolution Channel (HRC) of Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS).
[...]
The bright centre of a galaxy. It is filled with stars, most of which are bright blue points. There are some star clusters which appear as larger shining dots surrounded closely by more stars. Clouds of gas and dust can be seen behind the galaxy core, where they are lit up and appear pink in colour, and in front of it, where they block out some of its light and appear dark in colour.
[...]
The first new image of NGC 5253 is made up of observations from with Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), using its Wide Field Channel, and Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2).

The second image is made using data from the High Resolution Channel (HRC) of the ACS instrument.
[...]

https://www.esa.int/var/esa/storage/ima ... illars.jpg

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GOTD4Y Jac

[AVAO]

Hubble Space Telescope Views NGC 5253 with ACS / HRC
NASA/ESA | Original release 2024 June 28

This Hubble image shows NGC 5253, a blue compact dwarf galaxy some 11 million light-years away in the constellation of Centaurus. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / A. Zezas / D. Calzetti.

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GOTD4Y Jac

Click to view full size image 1 or image 2

Click to view full size image

original data: NASA / ESA jac berne (flickr)

[Ann]

Hubble Space Telescope Views NGC 5253 with ACS / HRC
NASA/ESA | Original release 2024 June 28

This Hubble image shows NGC 5253, a blue compact dwarf galaxy some 11 million light-years away in the constellation of Centaurus. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / A. Zezas / D. Calzetti.

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GOTD4Y Jac

Click to view full size image 1 or image 2

Click to view full size image

original data: NASA / ESA jac berne (flickr)

Thanks, Jac, I love NGC 5253!

First, a comparison:

NGC 5253. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, A. Zezas, D. Calzetti

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Magnetic field lines in M82. Credit: NASA/SOFIA/E. Lopez-Rodiguez; NASA/Spitzer/J. Moustakas et al.

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NGC 5253 is similar to M82 in that it has a disk without star formation and a tremendous starburst in its core. Of course, NGC 5253 is considerably smaller than M82, which, however, is not that big in itself.

We can easily see the dust lane feeding gas into the center of NGC 5253, fueling the starburst:

Dust lane feeding gas into the center of NGC 5252, fueling the starburst.
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, A. Zezas, W. D. Vacca, D. Calzetti

Apparently the super star clusters of NGC 5253 are hidden behind thick clouds of gas and dust:

Position of the largest (but hidden) super star clusters of NGC 5253, #5 and #11. Credit: HST ACS/HRC, HST/STIS and VLT/UVES, Calzetti et al. 2015, Meurer et al. 1995

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There is of course another galaxy which resembles NGC 5253, namely NGC 1569. But NGC 1569 appears to be completely engulfed in red Hα nebulas:

The three visible super star clusters of NGC 1569, two of which are overlapping. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, Aloisi, Ford. Acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt (Geckzilla)

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NGC 1569 with two (actually three) super star clusters. Two of the clusters are overlapping from our point of view. A large nebula dominates the image, but there is probably more galaxy here than meets the eye. Credit: NASA / A. Aloisi (STScI/ESA) et al.

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Ann

[AVAO]

Hubble Space Telescope Views NGC 5253 with ACS / HRC
NASA/ESA | Original release 2024 June 28

This Hubble image shows NGC 5253, a blue compact dwarf galaxy some 11 million light-years away in the constellation of Centaurus. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / A. Zezas / D. Calzetti.

---

GOTD4Y Jac

Click to view full size image 1 or image 2

Click to view full size image

original data: NASA / ESA jac berne (flickr)

Thanks, Jac, I love NGC 5253!

First, a comparison:

NGC 5253. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, A. Zezas, D. Calzetti

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Magnetic field lines in M82. Credit: NASA/SOFIA/E. Lopez-Rodiguez; NASA/Spitzer/J. Moustakas et al.

---

NGC 5253 is similar to M82 in that it has a disk without star formation and a tremendous starburst in its core. Of course, NGC 5253 is considerably smaller than M82, which, however, is not that big in itself.

We can easily see the dust lane feeding gas into the center of NGC 5253, fueling the starburst:

Dust lane feeding gas into NGC 5253 ESA Hubble NASA A Zezas W D Vacca D Calzetti.png

Dust lane feeding gas into the center of NGC 5252, fueling the starburst.
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, A. Zezas, W. D. Vacca, D. Calzetti

Apparently the super star clusters of NGC 5253 are hidden behind thick clouds of gas and dust:

Clusters 5 and 11 in NGC 5253 Legacy Extragalactic UV Survey.png

Position of the largest (but hidden) super star clusters of NGC 5253, #5 and #11. Credit: HST ACS/HRC, HST/STIS and VLT/UVES, Calzetti et al. 2015, Meurer et al. 1995

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There is of course another galaxy which resembles NGC 5253, namely NGC 1569. But NGC 1569 appears to be completely engulfed in red Hα nebulas:

The three visible super star clusters of NGC 1569, two of which are overlapping. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, Aloisi, Ford. Acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt (Geckzilla)

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NGC 1569 with two (actually three) super star clusters. Two of the clusters are overlapping from our point of view. A large nebula dominates the image, but there is probably more galaxy here than meets the eye. Credit: NASA / A. Aloisi (STScI/ESA) et al.

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Ann

ThanX Ann

Also for your detailed comments.
... I had the same thought and was wondering how big the similarities to M82 are. I think they are really very big...

An edge-on spiral starburst galaxy with a bright white, glowing core set against the black background of space. A white band of the edge-on disc extends from lower left to upper right. Dark brown tendrils of dust are scattered thinly along this band. Many white points in various sizes – stars or star clusters – are scattered throughout the image, but are most heavily concentrated toward the centre. Many clumpy, red filaments extend vertically above and below the plane of the galaxy.

Click to view full size image

Credit: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, A. Bolatto (UMD)

Click to view full size image

Credit: NASA/ESA/CSA/STScI jac berne (flickr)


..see also NGC 4694:

Click to view full size image

Click to view full size image

Credit: NASA/ESA/CSA (JWST) processed by yuval (Mastodon)

[AVAO]

..see also NGC 4694:

Click to view full size image

Click to view full size image

Credit: NASA/ESA/CSA (JWST) processed by yuval (Mastodon)

Click to view full size image

Credit: yuval | And here is the core of NGC 4694 by # JWST , MIRI (red) and NIRCam.

[AVAO]

never give up!

NGC 4694 by #JWST, MIRI (red) and NIRCam. A lenticular galaxy, but the dust is spread out unevenly. Yuval
https://nerdculture.de/@yuvharpaz/112741427943004143


And here is the core of NGC 4694 by #JWST, MIRI (red) and NIRCam. Yuval
https://nerdculture.de/@yuvharpaz/112741456860535806

[Ann]

never give up!

NGC 4694 by #JWST, MIRI (red) and NIRCam. A lenticular galaxy, but the dust is spread out unevenly. Yuval
https://nerdculture.de/@yuvharpaz/112741427943004143


And here is the core of NGC 4694 by #JWST, MIRI (red) and NIRCam. Yuval
https://nerdculture.de/@yuvharpaz/112741456860535806

Interesting, Jac! NGC 4694 is an intriguing galaxy. It looks special in optical light, too:

NGC 4694. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, D. Thilker

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You could be fooled into thinking that NGC 4694 is "red and dead", since it looks fairly yellow and smooth overall. But just look at its central part:

The area "below" the core (in this image) not only looks bright, but also definitely bluish. My amateur guess is that this is most probably the remnant of a brilliant starburst that has left behind a large bright patch full of stars similar to A-type stars Vega, Sirius and Alioth (the brightest star of the Plough). These stars are too faint to show up in the Hubble image individually, but together they produce a bright blue-white glow. Also note a very prominent three-lobed pink emission nebula with hot blue OB stars inside it.

NGC 4694 has a bluer B-V index (0.630) than interesting interacting bar-and-ring galaxy NGC 1512 (0.810), but NGC 1512 has a more ultraviolet U-B index (0.170) than NGC 4694 (0.220). My tentative amateur guess is that this is because NGC 4694 has a higher proportion of stars hotter than spectral type F among its stars than NGC 1512, but NGC 1512 has many more hot O- and early B-type stars than NGC 4694.

NGC 1512 (left) and NGC 1510 (right) in optical light. Credit: ESA/Hubble, NASA

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NGC 1512 (center) and NGC 1510 (right) in ultraviolet light. Credit: https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/proxy/Z377cZSEZiyKtH5CPlK4dxU6s7Pa-g32FgRUBNhkOFxNTBvx0zCIfF78qx3ma42L5ScvTWcBrDeoGjxipg6f9DFHibfR9u9ywxIvmR9jC6RHjw

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Ann