Barred Spiral Galaxy NGC 6217

This is the first image of a celestial object taken with the newly repaired Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS). The camera was restored to operation during the STS-125 servicing mission to upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope.

The barred spiral galaxy NGC 6217 was photographed on June 13 and July 8, 2009, as part of the initial testing and calibration of Hubble's ACS. The galaxy lies 60 million light-years away in the north circumpolar constellation Ursa Major.

About the colours

The image is a composite of separate exposures made by the ACS instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope. Four filters were used to sample broad and narrow wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic image. In this case, the assigned colors are: Red: F814W (I) + F658N (H-alpha + [N II]) Green: F625W (r) Blue: F435W (g)

About the data

The Hubble images were created from data from the calibration proposal 11371 : M. Sirianni (STScI/ESA), M. Chiaberge (STScI/ESA/INAF), A. Suchkov (Johns Hopkins University), and N. Grogin (STScI).

Acknowledgments for NGC 6217 Observers: M. Sirianni (STScI/ESA), M. Chiaberge (STScI/ESA/INAF), A. Suchkov (Johns Hopkins University), and N. Grogin (STScI) Data Analysis: M. Mutchler (STScI) Image Composition: Z. Levay and L. Frattare (STScI) Text: D. Weaver and R. Villard (STScI) Illustrations: Z. Levay (STScI) Video: G. Bacon (STScI) Science Consultant: K. Noll (STScI)