A spiral galaxy coils like a sleeping snake in a stunning new image of the Atacama Large Millimeter / Submillimeter Array (ALMA) of the Southern European Observatory (ESO).
ALMA’s high altitude of 16,500 feet (5,000 meters) and the extremely dry climate in Chile’s Atacama Desert provide an excellent vantage point for the observatory’s 66 radio telescopes to penetrate the sky.
NGC 1087, which orbits silently 80 million light-years from Earth like a sleeping, coiled snake, is an intermediate spiral galaxy spanning 86,800 light-years in the constellation Cetus. This area of the sky is named after a sea monster from Greek mythology and is home to other water-themed constellations, such as Aquarius and Pisces.
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Seen as a composite image composed of shots made at different wavelengths, ALMA’s observations capture the lava-like reddish hue of the galaxy, which represents cold clouds of star-generating molecular gas.
The blue regions indicate areas of older, more mature stars, all imaged by ESO’s Very Large Telescope Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer, located on the extensive site of the ALMA Observatory, said representatives of the ‘ESO in a statement (opens in a new tab).
These stunning photographs were taken in conjunction with a project called PHANGS, or Physics at High Angular Resolution in Nearby Galaxies Survey. Scientists assigned to the team are trying to provide a catalog of high-resolution observations aimed at nearby galaxies, with telescopes aimed at a wide range of wavelengths.
Analysis of the different wavelengths will reveal data on the galaxy’s internal physical properties of stars, gas and dust, ESO officials said in a statement. Comparing these results in multiple readings allows astronomers to investigate the processes that activate, enhance, or restrict the dawn of baby stars.
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