HD Pictures: M101, NGC 4547, The Pinwheel Galaxy

In 1609, Galileo first turned his telescope to the heavens and gave birth to modern astronomy. To commemorate four hundred years of exploring the universe, 2009 is designated the International Year of Astronomy. NASA's Great Observatories - the Hubble Space Telescope, Spitzer Space Telescope, and Chandra X-ray Observatory - are marking the occasion with the release of a suite of images at over 100 planetariums, museums, nature centers, and schools across the country in conjunction with Galileo's birthday on February 15. The selected sites will unveil a large, 9-square-foot print of the spiral galaxy Messier 101 that combines the optical view of Hubble, the infrared view of Spitzer, and the X-ray view of Chandra into one multiwavelength picture. "It's like using your eyes, night vision goggles, and X-ray vision all at the same time," says Dr. Hashima Hasan, lead scientist for the International Year of Astronomy at NASA Headquarters in Washington. Participating institutions also will display a matched trio of Hubble, Spitzer, and Chandra images of Messier 101. Each image shows a different wavelength view of the galaxy that illustrates not only the different science uncovered by each observatory, but also just how far astronomy has come since Galileo. Messier 101 is a face-on spiral galaxy about 22 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major. It is in many ways similar to, but larger than, our own Milky Way galaxy. Hubble's visible-light view shows off the swirls of bright stars and glowing gas that give the galaxy its nickname the Pinwheel Galaxy. In contrast, Spitzer's infrared-light image sees into the spiral arms and reveals the glow of dust lanes where dense clouds can collapse to form new stars. Chandra's X-ray picture uncovers the high-energy features in the galaxy, such as remnants of exploded stars or matter zooming around black holes. The juxtaposition of observations from these three telescopes provides an in-depth view of the galaxy for both astronomers and the public. "The amazing scientific discoveries made by Galileo four centuries ago are continued today by scientists using NASA's space observatories," says Dr. Denise Smith, the unveiling Project Manager at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Md. "NASA's Great Observatories are distributing huge prints of spectacular images so that the public can share in the exploration and wonder of the universe." The unveilings will take place between February 14 and 28 at 76 museums and 40 schools and universities in 39 states, reaching both big cities and small towns. Sites are planning celebrations involving the public, schools, and the local media. A complete listing of the national unveiling sites accompanies this press release. The International Year of Astronomy Great Observatories Image Unveiling is supported by the NASA Science Mission Directorate Astrophysics Division. The project is a collaboration between the Space Telescope Science Institute, the Spitzer Science Center, and the Chandra X-ray Center. Find out more about NASA's contributions to the International Year of Astronomy at: http://astronomy2009.nasa.gov and the U.S. effort at: http://astronomy2009.us - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - LIST OF PARTICIPATING INSTITUTIONS Ball State University Planetarium, Muncie, Indiana Carmel Clay Schools Planetarium, Carmel, Indiana OMSI, Portland, Oregon Carnegie Science Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Raritan Valley Community College, North Branch, New Jersey Crane Point Museum & Nature Center, Marathon, Florida The Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Discovery Center of Springfield, Springfield, Missouri John J. McCarthy Observatory, New Milford, Connecticut North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, North Carolina Kopernik Observatory and Science Center, Vestal, New York Austin Nature and Science Center, Austin, Texas Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawaii, Hilo, Hawaii William M. Staerkel Planetarium, Champaign, Illinois University of Maine Maynard F. Jordan Planetarium and Observatory, Orono, Maine Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum, Chicago, Illinois Fernbank Science Center, Atlanta, Georgia Challenger Learning Center of Maine, Bangor, Maine Amherst College Wilder Observatory and Bassett Planetarium, Amherst, Massachusetts NASA Educator Resource Center (ERC) @ Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott, Arizona Hudnall Planetarium at Tyler Junior College, Tyler, Texas Merrillville Community Planetarium (part of the Merrillville Community School Corporation), Merrillville, Indiana Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Santa Barbara, California Arizona Science Center, Phoenix, Arizona Sacramento Museum of History, Science & Technology (dba Discovery Museum Science & Space Center), Sacramento, California Elachee Nature Science Center, Gainesville, Georgia Ralph Mueller Planetarium - University of Nebraska State Museum, Lincoln, Nebraska Buffalo Museum of Science, Buffalo, New York Virginia Living Museum, Newport News, Virginia Schenectady Museum and Suits-Bueche Planetarium, Schenectady, New York The Detroit Science Center, Detroit, Michigan Jordanelle State Park, Heber City, Utah KCMSD Planetarium, Kansas City, Missouri McWane Science Center, Birmingham, Alabama Lakeview Museum of Arts and Sciences, Peoria, Illinois Calusa Nature Center and Planetarium, Fort Myers, Florida The Tech Museum of Innovation, San Jose, California Agnes Scott College, Decatur, Georgia Mohave Middle School, Scottsdale, Arizona African American Heritage Society, Franklin, Tennessee University of Denver, Chamberlin Observatory, Denver, Colorado UNC Morehead Planetarium and Science Center, Chapel Hill, North Carolina Pike Planetarium, Indianapolis, Indiana Sun Valley High School, Aston, Pennsylvania Angelo State University, San Angelo, Texas Plymouth White Marsh High School, Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, New York Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Planetarium at King Science and Technology Magnet, Omaha, Nebraska The Natural Science Center of Greensboro, Greensboro, North Carolina Santa Fe College Kika Silva Pla Planetarium, Gainesville, Florida The Citadel, Charleston, South Carolina Suffolk County Community College, Selden, New York National Park Service, Montrose, Colorado Strickler Planetarium on the campus of Olivet Nazarene University, Bourbonnais, Illinois Christa McAuliffe Planetarium, Concord, New Hampshire Berkeley County Planetarium, Hedgesville, West Virginia Ott Planetarium - Weber State University, Ogden, Utah Waubonsie Valley High School Planetarium, Aurora, Illinois Peter F. Hurst Planetarium, Jackson, Michigan The Christenberry Planetarium at Samford University, Birmingham, Alabama Museum of Science & Industry - MOSI, Tampa, Florida Longwood Regional Planetarium at Longwood CSD, Middle Island, New York Robeson Planetarium and Science Center, Lumberton, North Carolina Central Texas College, Killeen, Texas Louisiana Art and Science Museum & the Irene W. Pennington Planetarium, Baton Rouge, Louisiana Planetarium at the University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, Texas Milwaukee Public Museum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin The Gene Roddenberry Planetarium / The El Paso Independent School District, El Paso, Texas Exploration Place, Wichita, Kansas Purdue University College of Education, West Lafayette, Indiana The Children's Museum, West Hartford, Connecticut ScienceWorks Hands-On Museum, Ashland, Oregon Texas A&M University-Commerce Planetarium, Commerce, Texas Sibley Nature Center, Midland, Texas Chabot Space & Science Center, Oakland, California Brevard Community College Planetarium, Cocoa, Florida Texas A&M International University's Lamar Bruni Vergara Planetarium, Laredo, Texas Rainwater Observatory & Planetarium, French Camp, Mississippi Science Central, Fort Wayne, Indiana The Science Factory, Eugene, Oregon Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute, Rosman, North Carolina College of Southern Idaho, Twin Falls, Idaho Columbia Public Schools Planetarium partnered with Central Missouri Astronomical Association at Laws Observatory, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri Gheens Science Hall and Rauch Planetarium, Louisville, Kentucky DuPont Planetarium - University of South Carolina Aiken, Aiken, South Carolina Sudekum Planetarium at the Adventure Science Center, Nashville, Tennessee Saint Louis Science Center's James S. McDonnell Planetarium, St. Louis, Missouri Watson-King Planetarium, Towson, Maryland MiraCosta College, Oceanside, California Frosty Drew Nature Center and Observatory, Charlestown, Rhode Island Kennedy Planetarium, South Bend, Indiana Kalamazoo Nature Center, Kalamazoo, Michigan Robert T. Longway Planetarium, Flint, Michigan Dennos Museum Center / Northwestern Michigan College, Traverse City, Michigan Discovery Station at Hagerstown, Inc. and Brish Planetarium of the Washington County Public Schools, Hagerstown, Maryland The Museum of Flight, Seattle, Washington Youngstown State University, Youngstown, Ohio COSI, Columbus, Ohio Chippewa Valley Astronomical Society & Beaver Creek Reserve, Fall Creek, Wisconsin Tulsa Air and Space Museum & Planetarium, Tulsa, Oklahoma Windward Community College, Center for Aerospace Education, Kaneohe, Hawaii Red River Astronomy Club, Nashville, Arkansas Westminster Astronomical Society, Westminster, Maryland Minnesota Planetarium Society, Minneapolis, Minnesota Midland Lutheran College, Fremont, Nebraska University of Arizona Biosphere 2, Tucson, Arizona Austin Public Library, Austin, Texas Como Planetarium, Saint Paul, Minnesota Delta College Planetarium and Learning Center, Bay City, Michigan Muncie Community Schools Planetarium, Muncie, Indiana University of Colorado at Boulder, Boulder, Colorado Mayo High School Planetarium, Rochester, Minnesota University of Texas at Arlington / UTA Planetarium, Arlington, Texas Montgomery College Takoma Park Silver Spring Campus, Takoma Park, Maryland Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver, Colorado Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California CONTACT J.D. Harrington Headquarters, Washington 202-358-5241 [email protected] /* */ Ray Villard Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Md. 410-338-4514 [email protected] /* */ Whitney Clavin Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. 818-354-4673 [email protected] /* */ Megan Watzke Chandra X-ray Observatory Center, CfA, Cambridge, Mass. 617-496-7998 [email protected] /* */ About the Object Object Name: M101, NGC 4547, The Pinwheel Galaxy Object Description: Face-on Spiral Galaxy Position (J2000): R.A. 14h 03m 13s Dec. +54° 20' 53" Constellation: Ursa Major Distance: 21.8 million light-years (6.7 megaparsecs) Dimensions: This image is 18 arcminutes (114,000 light-years or 35,000 ________________________parsecs) wide. About the Spitzer Data Data Description: The science team for the Spitzer data include K. Gordon _______________________(STScI), C. Engelbracht, G. Rieke, K. Misselt, and J.-D. ________________________Smith (University of Arizona), and R. Kennicutt _______________________(University of Cambridge). Instrument: IRAC and MIPS Exposure Date(s): Mar 8, 2004 and May 10/11, 2004 Filters: 85 sec/pixel (IRAC); 200 sec/pixel (MIPS 24 micron) About the Hubble Data Data Description: This image was created from HST data from the following proposals: * 9490: K. Kuntz (Johns Hopkins University) * 9492: F. Bresolin (University of Hawaii) * 5210: J. Trauger (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) * 5397: J. Mould (NOAO) * 6829: Y.-C. Chu (University of Illinois, Urbana) The Hubble exposures have been superimposed onto ground-based images, visible at the edge of the image, taken at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope in Hawaii, and at the 0.9-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory, part of the National Optical Astronomy Observatory in Arizona. Instrument: ACS/WFC and WFPC2 Exposure Date(s): March 1994, September 1994, June 1999, November 2002, and January 2003 Filters: F435W(B), F555W(V), F814W(I) About the Chandra Data Data Description: The science team was led by K. Kuntz (Johns Hopkins University). Instrument: ACIS Exposure Date(s): March 2000 - January 2005 Energies: 0.45 - 1.00 keV and 1.00 - 2.00 keV About the Image Image Credit: NASA, ESA, CXC, SSC, and STScI Release Date: February 10, 2009 Personal note.... fucking awesome picture... _________________________________________________________________________________ please leave a comment if you want, this is just to show what is out there... And before you go and spam, dl it watch it and make up your own mind... cheers the_phyrexian Are you a British citizen? Click here! (Petition to stop Sharia Law) http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/shariastop there is a reseed section, read it / use it... http://suprbay.org/forumdisplay.php?f=35 or visit my blog... http://thephyrexian.tk

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ivanrlynn (2009-05-15)

Class Torrent! thanks for the upload nice res

ivanrlynn (2009-05-15)

Higher res image here: