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Zooming in on the Andromeda Galaxy

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Zooming in on the Andromeda Galaxy
Gigapixels of Andromeda
The full-resolution mosaic
ArtistNASA, using the Hubble Space Telescope
Year2010-2015
TypePanorama
SubjectAndromeda Galaxy
Dimensions69,536 x 22,230 pixels

Zooming in on the Andromeda Galaxy, also known as Gigapixels of Andromeda, is a 2015 composite photograph of the Andromeda Galaxy produced by the Hubble Space Telescope. It is 1.5 billion pixels in size, and is the largest image ever released by the telescope. At the time of its release to the public, the image was one of the largest ever taken.

Background

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In late 2011, the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT) was set up,[1] which was tasked with mapping one-third of the stars within the Andromeda Galaxy. As of 2024, the survey has detected an estimated 117,000,000 astronomical objects using six light filters.[2][3]

Description

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The image depicts the left-most side of the Andromeda Galaxy's galactic disc in visible light,[4][5] and the displayed section is approximately 61,000 light-years across.[6][7] The image shows the galaxy's 100 million stars of varying types and thousands of star clusters.[6][8][9] In the bottom-left of the image is the galaxy's nucleus, and dust lanes are also visible.[10] Several other deep-space objects are visible in the image, including background galaxies. Stars within the Milky Way are also visible, and are typically larger than stars within the Andromeda Galaxy.[11][12]

The final composite was stitched together using 411 exposures taken from July of 2010 to October of 2013,[13] and the image was first displayed at the 225th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Seattle, Washington.[6][14]

Legacy

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The mosaic is the largest and sharpest composite photograph ever taken of the Andromeda Galaxy, and the largest ever taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.[1][15] At the time of its release, the image was also one of the largest throughout all photographs.[16] The image has been used to help astronomers detect more Andromeda-like spiral galaxies using light.[4]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Hubble Snaps 1.5 Billion-Pixel Close-Up of Andromeda Galaxy". NBC News. 2015-01-21. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
  2. ^ "Astro Data Lab - Survey Data". datalab.noirlab.edu. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
  3. ^ "PHAT". MAST. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
  4. ^ a b "Hubble takes the biggest image ever of Andromeda at 1.5 billion pixels". cosmosmagazine.com. 2015-01-05. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
  5. ^ Malewar, Amit (2022-08-02). "NASA shares the largest-ever image of the Andromeda galaxy". Tech Explorist. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
  6. ^ a b c ESO. "Andromeda in HD - Hubble captures the sharpest ever view of neighbouring spiral Galaxy". www.esahubble.org. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
  7. ^ "Hubble's High-Definition Panoramic View of the Andromeda Galaxy". HubbleSite. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
  8. ^ "ESA Science & Technology - Sharpest ever view of the Andromeda Galaxy". sci.esa.int. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
  9. ^ "This Incredible 1.5-Billion-Pixel Image Is the Biggest Hubble Picture Ever". Popular Mechanics. 2015-01-20. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
  10. ^ "Hubble captures sharpest ever image of Andromeda". New Atlas. 2015-01-22. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
  11. ^ "ESA Science & Technology - Annotated section of Hubble image of the Andromeda Galaxy". sci.esa.int. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
  12. ^ Malewar, Amit (2022-08-02). "NASA shares the largest-ever image of the Andromeda galaxy". Tech Explorist. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
  13. ^ Trembley, Bob (2015-01-09). "High-Definition Panoramic View of the Andromeda Galaxy". Vatican Observatory. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
  14. ^ "NASA releases largest picture ever taken". kvue.com. 2015-01-20. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
  15. ^ "NASA shows largest image ever of Andromeda Galaxy". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
  16. ^ "NASA releases largest picture ever taken". wbir.com. 2015-01-20. Retrieved 2024-10-18.
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