Large-Field Hubble Image of Starburst Galaxy NGC 1569

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has imaged one of the most active galaxies in our local neighborhood. NGC 1569, sparkles with the light from millions of newly formed young stars. At the nucleus of the starburst galaxy is a grouping of three giant star clusters, each containing more than a million stars. The clusters reside in a large, central cavity. The gas in the cavity has been blown out by the multitude of massive, young stars that already exploded as supernovae. NGC 1569 is located 11 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Camelopardalis. Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 and Advanced Camera for Surveys made the observations of NGC 1569 in September 1999, November 2006, and January 2007. This image shows the full region that was imaged by both detectors.

About the colours

The image is a composite of separate exposures made by the ACS and WFPC2 instruments on the Hubble Space Telescope. Three filters were used to sample narrow-wavelength ranges. One filter was used to sample broad wavelengths. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic image. In this case, the assigned colors are: Red: F658N (H-alpha + [N II]) Green/cyan: F606W (wide V) Cyan: F502N ([O III]) Blue: F487 (H-beta)

About the data

HST Proposal: 8133 P. Shopbell (Caltech), R. Dufour (Rice University), D. Walter (South Carolina State University), and A. Wilson (University of Maryland) HST Proposal: 10885 A. Aloisi (STScI/ESA) et al. The science team includes: A. Aloisi (STScI/ESA), L. Angeretti (Astronomical Observatory of Bologna/INAF), F. Annibali and L. Greggio (Astronomical Observatory of Padua/INAF), A. Grocholski (STScI), E. Held (Astronomical Observatory of Padua/INAF), J. Mack (STScI), D. Romano (Astronomical Observatory of Bologna/INAF), M. Sirianni (STScI/ESA), M. Tosi (Astronomical Observatory of Bologna/INAF), and R. van der Marel (STScI).