Astronomers Capture Deep Image of Spiral Galaxy NGC 1003

A spectacular new image, taken with the Nicholas U. Mayall 4-m Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory, shows the spiral galaxy NGC 1003 and a collection of more distant and fainter galaxies.

NGC 1003 is located about 28 million light-years away in the constellation of Perseus.

Also known as LEDA 10052 and UGC 2137, the galaxy was discovered by the German-British astronomer William Herschel in 1784.

NGC 1003 is a member of the NGC 1023 group, an accumulation of about 70 massive and dwarf galaxies.

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Image credit: KPNO / NOIRLab / NSF / AURA / Maria T. Patterson, New Mexico State University / Travis Rector, University of Alaska Anchorage / Mahdi Zamani & Davide de Martin.

A long-exposure observation lasting 70 min from the Nicholas U. Mayall 4-m Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory, a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab, reveals NGC 1003 in glorious detail.

This spiral galaxy resides in front of a galaxy cluster and the long exposure time of this deep observation allowed usually overlooked red background cluster galaxies to be captured.

Sourc / Image Courtesy

A stunning long-exposure observation taken with the Nicholas U. Mayall 4-meter Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory, a Program of NSF’s NOIRLab, reveals spiral galaxy NGC 1003 in glorious detail.

The deep observation also shows a treasure trove of background galaxies spread throughout the image. Astronomers refer to observations as “deep” when they are taken with very long exposure times.

Just as with photography, this gathers more light, revealing distant, fainter objects. Deeper exposures let astronomers look deeper into the Universe — hence the name.