WISE Infrared View of Dust in the Andromeda Galaxy

Wise_wise2010-004c2_1024

wise_WISE2010-004c2 February 17th, 2010

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/WISE Team

This image from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, highlights the dust that speckles the Andromeda galaxy's spiral arms. It shows light seen by the longest-wavelength infrared detectors on WISE (12-micron light has been color coded orange, and 22-micron light, red).

The hot dust, which is being heated by newborn stars, traces the spidery arms all the way to the center of the galaxy. Telltale signs of young stars can also be seen in the centers of Andromeda's smaller companion galaxies, M32 and M110.

Andromeda, also called M31, is 2.5 million light-years away, and is the nearest large neighbor to our Milky Way galaxy.

Provider: Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer

Image Source: /image/wise/WISE2010-004c2

Curator: Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, Berkeley, CA, USA

Image Use Policy: Pulic Domain

Image Details Image Details

Image Type
Observation
Object Name
Andromeda Galaxy M31 NGC 224 M32 NGC 221 M110 NGC 205
Subject - Local Universe
Galaxy > Type > Spiral

Distance Details Distance

Universescale2
2,540,000 light years
Wise_wise2010-004c2_128
 

Position Details Position Details

Position
RA = 0h 42m 44.3s
DEC = 41° 16’ 9.0”
Orientation
North is 207.0° CCW
Field of View
5.0 x 5.0 degrees
Constellation
Andromeda

Color Mapping Details Color Mapping

  Telescope Spectral Band Wavelength
Red WISE Infrared (Mid-IR) 12.0 µm
Red WISE Infrared (Mid-IR) 22.0 µm
Spectrum_ir1
Red
Red
Wise_wise2010-004c2_1280
×
ID
WISE2010-004c2
Subject Category
C.5.1.1.  
Subject Name
Andromeda Galaxy, M31, NGC 224, M32, NGC 221, M110, NGC 205
Credits
NASA/JPL-Caltech/WISE Team
Release Date
2010-02-17
Lightyears
2,540,000
Redshift
Reference Url
/image/wise/WISE2010-004c2
Type
Observation
Image Quality
Distance Notes
Facility
WISE, WISE
Instrument
Color Assignment
Red, Red
Band
Infrared, Infrared
Bandpass
Mid-IR, Mid-IR
Central Wavelength
12000, 22000
Start Time
Integration Time
Dataset ID
Notes
Coordinate Frame
Equinox
J2000
Reference Value
10.684583, 41.269167
Reference Dimension
6666, 6666
Reference Pixel
3333.5, 3333.5
Scale
-7.50000006519300e-04, 7.50000006519300e-04
Rotation
207
Coordinate System Projection:
SIN
Quality
Full
FITS Header
Notes
Creator (Curator)
Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer
URL
http://wise.astro.ucla.edu
Name
Email
outreach@ssl.berkeley.edu
Telephone
Address
7 Gauss Way
City
Berkeley
State/Province
CA
Postal Code
94720
Country
USA
Rights
Pulic Domain
Publisher
Publisher ID
wise
Resource ID
Resource URL
/image/wise/WISE2010-004c2
Related Resources
Metadata Date
2018-01-11T02:35:43Z
Metadata Version
1.2
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Detailed color mapping information coming soon...

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Universescalefull
2,540,000 light years

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