Astrophoto Lab
--- your online source for astronomical & satellite images ---

Dancing on the Edge
Home
Welcome!
General Information
Special Galleries
AstroIndex
EarthIndex
Deep Space
Galaxies
Nebulae
Stars, Supernovae
Solar System
Earth from Space
NASA Space Programs
Other Astro Images
Posters
Space Image Gallery
Useful Links
Credits & Useage
Feedback
Signup
Name: NGC 7814, Caldwell 43
Description: Spiral Galaxy
Position (J2000): RA 00hr 03m 14.947s Dec 16° 8' 42.82"
Constellation: Pegasus
Distance: 40 million light years
Field of view: 3.37 x 1.68 arcminutes
Angular dimensions: 5.5' × 2.3'
Visual magnitude: 11.6

Orientation: North is 31.5° right of vertical
Image Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, Ack: Josh Barrington
Release date: February 2, 2015
Click the image to buy a print
+
—————————————————————————————————————————————————

ABOUT THIS IMAGE:

Galaxies can take many shapes and be oriented any way relative to us in the sky. This can make it hard to figure out their actual morphology, as a galaxy can look very different from different viewpoints. A special case is when we are lucky enough to observe a spiral galaxy directly from its edge, providing us with a spectacular view like the one seen in this picture of the week.

This is NGC 7814, also known as the “Little Sombrero”. Its larger namesake the Sombrero Galaxy is another stunning example of an edge-on galaxy — in fact, the “Little Sombrero” is about the same size as its bright namesake at about 60 000 light-years across, but as it lies further away, it appears smaller in the sky.

NGC 7814 has a bright central bulge and a bright halo of glowing gas extending outwards into space. The dusty spiral arms appear as dark streaks. they consist of dusty material that absorbs and blocks light from the galactic center behind it. The field of view of this NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image would be very impressive even without NGC 7814 in front; nearly all the objects seen in this image are galaxies as well.