This composite image is of spiral galaxy M106 NGC 4258; optical data from the Digitized Sky Survey is yellow, radio data from the Very Large Array is purple, X-ray data from Chandra is blue, and infrared data from the Spitzer Space Telescope is red.
Anomalous Arms
A composite image of the spiral galaxy NGC 4258 showing X-ray emission observed with NASA Chandra X-ray Observatory blue and infrared emission observed with NASA Spitzer Space Telescope red and green.
Black Hole Jets Make Shock Waves
Anomalous arms are seen in this composite image of NGC 4258 from NASA Chandra X-ray Observator, NSF Karl Jansky Very Large Array, NASA Hubble Space Telescope and Spitzer Space Telescope.
Galactic Pyrotechnics on Display
Since its launch five years ago, the Galaxy Evolution Explorer has photographed hundreds of millions of galaxies in ultraviolet light. M106 is one of those galaxies, 22 light years away, it strikes a pose in blue and gold for this new commemorative portrait. The galaxy's extended arms are the blue filaments that curve around its edge, creating its outer disk. Tints of blue in M106's arms reveal hot, young massive stars. Traces of gold toward the center show an older stellar population and indicate the presence of obscuring dust. From 24 million light-years away, neighboring galaxy NGC 4248 also makes a memorable appearance, sitting just right of M106. The irregular galaxy looks like a yellow smudge, with a bluish-white bar in the center. The galaxy's outer golden glow indicates a population of older stars, while the blue central region shows a younger stellar demographic. Dwarf galaxy UGC 7365 emerges at the bottom center of this image, as a faint yellow smudge directly below M106. This galaxy is not forming any new stars, and looks much smaller than M106 despite being closer to Earth, at 14 million light-years away. Over the past five years, the Galaxy Evolution Explorer has imaged half a billion objects over 27,000 square degrees of sky —equivalent to an area that would be covered by 138,000 full moons. The telescope orbits Earth every 94 minutes and travels approximately 408,470 million miles per day. Its overarching question is: how do galaxies grow and change over 10 billion years of cosmic history? M106, also known as NGC 4258, is located in the constellation Canes Venatici. This image is a two-color composite, where far-ultraviolet light is blue, and near-ultraviolet light is red. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA10600
Galaxy Evolution Explorer Celebrates Five Years in Space