Hubble Goes Deep
This image from the Hubble Deep Ultraviolet Legacy Survey encompasses 12,000 star-forming galaxies in the constellation Fornax - a region known as the GOODS-South field. With the addition of ultraviolet light imagery, astronomers using NASA/ESA's Hubble Space Telescope captured the largest panoramic view of the fire and fury of star birth in the distant universe. The busiest star-forming period in the cosmos happened about three billion years after the big bang.
So far, ultraviolet light has been the missing piece of the cosmic puzzle. Now, combined with data in infrared and visible light from Hubble and other space- and ground-based telescopes, astronomers have assembled the most comprehensive portrait yet of the universe’s evolutionary history. The image straddles the gap between the very distant galaxies, which can only be viewed in infrared light, and closer galaxies, which can be seen across different wavelengths. The light from distant star-forming regions in remote galaxies started out as ultraviolet, but the expansion of the universe has shifted the light into infrared wavelengths. By comparing images of star formation in the distant and nearby universe, astronomers can get a better understanding of how nearby galaxies grew from small clumps of hot, young stars long ago.
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.
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Hubble Goes Deep
This image from the Hubble Deep Ultraviolet Legacy Survey encompasses 12,000 star-forming galaxies in the constellation Fornax - a region known as the GOODS-South field. With the addition of ultraviolet light imagery, astronomers using NASA/ESA's Hubble Space Telescope captured the largest panoramic view of the fire and fury of star birth in the distant universe. The busiest star-forming period in the cosmos happened about three billion years after the big bang.
So far, ultraviolet light has been the missing piece of the cosmic puzzle. Now, combined with data in infrared and visible light from Hubble and other space- and ground-based telescopes, astronomers have assembled the most comprehensive portrait yet of the universe’s evolutionary history. The image straddles the gap between the very distant galaxies, which can only be viewed in infrared light, and closer galaxies, which can be seen across different wavelengths. The light from distant star-forming regions in remote galaxies started out as ultraviolet, but the expansion of the universe has shifted the light into infrared wavelengths. By comparing images of star formation in the distant and nearby universe, astronomers can get a better understanding of how nearby galaxies grew from small clumps of hot, young stars long ago.
Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission.
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Like us on Facebook
Find us on Instagram