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Zooming In on the Andromeda Galaxy

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Zooming In on the Andromeda Galaxy
Gigapixels of Andromeda
The full-resolution mosaic
ArtistNASA, using the Hubble Space Telescope
Year2015
TypePanorama
SubjectAndromeda Galaxy
Dimensions69,536 × 22,230 pixels

Zooming In on the Andromeda Galaxy, also known as Gigapixels of Andromeda, is a 2015 composite photograph of the Andromeda Galaxy produced by the Hubble Space Telescope. It is 1.5 billion pixels in size, and is the largest image ever taken by the telescope.[1] At the time of its release to the public, the image was one of the largest ever taken.[2]

In late 2011, the Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT) was set up,[1] which was tasked with mapping one-third of the stars within the Andromeda Galaxy. As of 2024, the survey has detected an estimated 117,000,000 astronomical objects using six light filters.[3][4]

The image depicts the right-most side[discuss] of the Andromeda Galaxy's galactic disc in visible light,[5][6] and the displayed section is approximately 61,000 light-years across.[7][8] The image shows the galaxy's 100 million stars of varying types and thousands of star clusters.[7][9][10] In the bottom-left of the image is the galaxy's nucleus, and dust lanes are also visible.[11] Several other deep-space objects are visible in the image, including background galaxies. Stars within the Milky Way are also visible, and are typically larger than stars within the Andromeda Galaxy.[12][13]

The final composite was stitched together using 411 exposures taken from July 2010 to October 2013,[14] and the image was first displayed at the 225th meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Seattle, Washington.[7][15] The mosaic is the largest and sharpest composite photograph ever taken of the Andromeda Galaxy, and the largest ever taken by the Hubble Space Telescope.[1][16] At the time of its release, the image was also one of the largest throughout all photographs.[2] The image has been used to help astronomers detect more Andromeda-like spiral galaxies using light.[5]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Hubble Snaps 1.5 Billion-Pixel Close-Up of Andromeda Galaxy". NBC News. January 21, 2015. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "NASA releases largest picture ever taken". WBIR-TV. January 20, 2015. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  3. ^ "Astro Data Lab – Survey Data". datalab.noirlab.edu. Archived from the original on May 20, 2024. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  4. ^ "PHAT". MAST. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Hubble takes the biggest image ever of Andromeda at 1.5 billion pixels". cosmosmagazine.com. January 5, 2015. Archived from the original on June 18, 2024. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  6. ^ Malewar, Amit (August 2, 2022). "NASA shares the largest-ever image of the Andromeda galaxy". Tech Explorist. Archived from the original on May 22, 2024. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  7. ^ a b c ESO. "Andromeda in HD – Hubble captures the sharpest ever view of neighbouring spiral Galaxy". www.esahubble.org. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  8. ^ "Hubble's High-Definition Panoramic View of the Andromeda Galaxy". HubbleSite. Archived from the original on August 23, 2023. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  9. ^ "ESA Science & Technology – Sharpest ever view of the Andromeda Galaxy". sci.esa.int. Archived from the original on July 31, 2024. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  10. ^ "This Incredible 1.5-Billion-Pixel Image Is the Biggest Hubble Picture Ever". Popular Mechanics. January 20, 2015. Archived from the original on February 5, 2023. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  11. ^ "Hubble captures sharpest ever image of Andromeda". New Atlas. January 22, 2015. Archived from the original on June 17, 2024. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  12. ^ "ESA Science & Technology – Annotated section of Hubble image of the Andromeda Galaxy". sci.esa.int. Archived from the original on October 26, 2021. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  13. ^ Malewar, Amit (August 2, 2022). "NASA shares the largest-ever image of the Andromeda galaxy". Tech Explorist. Archived from the original on May 22, 2024. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  14. ^ Trembley, Bob (January 9, 2015). "High-Definition Panoramic View of the Andromeda Galaxy". Vatican Observatory. Archived from the original on July 16, 2024. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  15. ^ "NASA releases largest picture ever taken". kvue.com. January 20, 2015. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  16. ^ "NASA shows largest image ever of Andromeda Galaxy". USA TODAY. Archived from the original on February 5, 2024. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
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