X rays From HCG 62
Credit & Copyright: J. Vrtilek et al.,
CfA,
NASA
Explanation:
Scanning the skies for galaxies Canadian astronomer
Paul Hickson and colleagues identified some 100 compact
groups
of galaxies, now appropriately called
Hickson Compact Groups (HCGs).
With only a few member galaxies per group, HCGs are much smaller
than the immense
clusters of galaxies
which lurk in the cosmos,
but like the large galaxy clusters, some HCGs seem to be filled with
hot,
x-ray emitting gas.
In fact, groups of galaxies like HCGs may
be the building blocks of the large clusters.
This false-color x-ray image from the orbiting
Chandra
Observatory reveals x-ray emission from the gas in
one
such group, HCG 62, in startling detail.
In the image, black and green colors
represent low intensities while red and purple hues indicate
high x-ray intensities.
Striking features of the
x-ray image are the low brightness blobs
at the upper left and lower right
which symmetrically flank the intense central x-ray region.
HCG 62 lies
in Virgo,
and near the group's center resides elliptical
galaxy
NGC 4761.
At optical wavelengths,
some HCGs
make for
rewarding viewing,
even with modest sized telescopes.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
