Astronomers Unveil Comprehensive Multihued Image of Nearby Galaxy

Thanks to the Very Large Telescope of the European Southern Observatory, astronomers have produced a thousand-color image of a nearby galaxy. The Sculptor Galaxy, referred to as NGC 253, is situated 11 million light-years away from our planet and can be effortlessly observed in the Southern Hemisphere using binoculars. However, it has never been seen like this before.

In an astonishing high-definition image, astronomers have unveiled parts of the galaxy that were previously obscured. By distinguishing the colors of the stars, dust, and gas that constitute this galaxy, they’ve been able to examine everything from their age to their makeup. Simultaneously, they’ve created a brilliant image and recently shared their results in a research study set to be published in Astronomy & Astrophysics.

“Galaxies are highly intricate systems that we are still attempting to comprehend,” states ESO researcher Enrico Congiu, who spearheaded the research on Sculptor. Spanning hundreds of thousands of light-years, galaxies are immensely vast, yet their development relies on phenomena occurring at significantly smaller scales.

“The Sculptor Galaxy is in an ideal position,” remarks Congiu. “It is sufficiently close that we can discern its internal framework and investigate its fundamental components in great detail, while also being large enough to perceive it as a cohesive system.”

To capture the image, researchers examined the galaxy for 50 hours utilizing the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) instrument on ESO’s VLT. They then combined over 100 exposures to encompass an area of the galaxy approximately 65,000 light-years wide. In addition to the color image, the team also crafted an intriguing false-color composition that illustrates the light emitted by various gases within the galaxy. These colors signify everything from newly formed stars to a black hole located at the galaxy’s center.

Now that the map of Sculptor has been completed, researchers intend to utilize it to investigate how gas flows, alters its composition, and generates stars throughout this galaxy. Congiu expresses, “How such minute processes can exert such a vast influence on a galaxy whose total size is thousands of times larger remains a mystery.”

Astronomers have developed a comprehensive thousand-color image of the Sculptor Galaxy.

This depiction presents a detailed, thousand-color visualization of the Sculptor Galaxy, captured with the MUSE instrument at ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT). Sections of pink light are scattered throughout this entire galactic snapshot, originating from ionized hydrogen in regions of star formation. These areas have been superimposed on a map of pre-existing stars in Sculptor to create the blend of pinks and blues observed.

This depiction reveals the Sculptor Galaxy in a different light. This false-color composition illustrates specific light wavelengths emitted by hydrogen, nitrogen, sulfur, and oxygen. These elements are present in gaseous form across the galaxy, but the processes that prompt this gas to radiate can differ throughout. The pink light indicates gas energized by the radiation of newly born stars, whereas the cone of brighter light at the center results from gas outflow from the black hole at the galaxy’s core.

Clearly visible in the Southern Hemisphere, this galaxy, also known as NGC 253, resides within the Sculptor constellation.

This chart illustrates the position of the adjacent spiral galaxy NGC 253 within the constellation of Sculptor. This galaxy is luminous enough to be readily observed as an elongated haze through binoculars from a dark location.