NGC 300: 恒星的聚落

NGC 300: 恒星的聚落

NGC 300: A Galaxy of Stars
Image Credit & Copyright: Daniel Stern

Explanation: This galaxy is unusual for how many stars it seems that you can see. Stars are so abundantly evident in this deep exposure of the spiral galaxy NGC 300 because so many of these stars are bright blue and grouped into resolvable bright star clusters. Additionally, NGC 300 is so clear because it is one of the closest spiral galaxies to Earth, as light takes only about 6 million years to get here. Of course, galaxies are composed of many more faint stars than bright, and even more of a galaxy’s mass is attributed to unseen dark matter. NGC 300 spans nearly the same amount of sky as the full moon and is visible with a small telescope toward the southern constellation of the Sculptor. The featured image was captured in October from Rio Hurtado, Chile and is a composite of over 20 hours of exposure.

Tomorrow’s picture: red planet blues

NGC 300: 恒星的聚落
影像提供与版权: Daniel Stern

说明: 这个星系之所以看起来很不寻常，是因为其可见的恒星数量。在这幅深空影像里，螺旋星系NGC 300中的恒星之所以格外醒目，因为其中有许多明亮的泛蓝恒星，并且这些恒星更群聚成可解析的明亮星团。此外，NGC 300的身影无比清晰，因为它是离地球最近的螺旋星系之一，星光只需要约600万年即可传到我们这里。想当然耳，星系内的昏暗恒星之数量远大于明亮恒星，而星系大部分的质量来自不可见的暗物质。位于南天玉夫座方向、用小望远镜即可见的NGC 300，在天空的张角与满月相当。这张总曝光时间超过20小时的组合 主题影像，是在上个月摄于智利的里奥胡鲁塔多（Rio Hurtado）。

明日的图片: red planet blues