NGC 4302 and NGC 4298
Explanation:
Seen edge-on,
spiral galaxy NGC 4302 (left) lies about 55 million
light-years away in the well-groomed constellation Coma Berenices.
A member of the large
Virgo Galaxy Cluster,
it spans some 87,000 light-years, a little smaller than our own Milky Way.
Like the Milky Way,
NGC 4302's prominent dust lanes cut along
the center of the galactic plane, obscuring and reddening
the starlight from our perspective.
Smaller companion galaxy NGC 4298 is also a dusty spiral.
But tilted more nearly face-on to our view,
NGC 4298 can show off dust lanes along spiral arms traced by
the bluish light of young stars, as well as its bright yellowish core.
In celebration of the 27th anniversary of the launch of the Hubble
Space Telescope on April 24, 1990, astronomers used the
legendary
telescope to take this gorgeous
visible
light portrait of the contrasting galaxy pair.
Tonight Watch: The
Lyrid Meteor Shower
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.
