VLT Spots Star-Bursting Nuclear Ring in NGC 1097
Jan 11, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro
Using the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) instrument on the Very Large Telescope (VLT) at ESO’s Paranal Observatory, astronomers have imaged a 5,000-light-year-wide star-bursting ring in the center of the barred spiral galaxy NGC 1097.
NGC 1097 lies in the southern constellation Fornax at a distance of only 45 million light-years.
This galaxy was discovered by the German-British astronomer William Herschel on October 9, 1790.
Also known as Apg 77, ESO 416-20, LEDA 10488 and UGCA 41, it is a relatively bright barred spiral galaxy, seen face-on.
At magnitude 9.5, and thus just 25 times fainter than the faintest object that can be seen with the unaided eye, it appears in small telescopes as a bright, circular disk.
NGC 1097 is also known as an example of the so-called LINER class of galaxies. Objects of this type are believed to be low-luminosity examples of active galactic nuclei.
More:
http://www.sci-news.com/astronomy/vlt-star-bursting-nuclear-ring-ngc-1097-09235.html
The Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) second generation instrument for ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) is an innovative 3D spectrograph with a wide field of view, providing simultaneous spectra of numerous adjacent regions in the sky. Such spectrographs are efficient explorers of the Universe in three dimensions (two for the sky positions, and one for the wavelengths). Poised to become a unique and powerful tool for discovering objects that cannot be found in imaging surveys, MUSE, which is based on a number of technological developments, is bringing these advantages to a level never achieved before.
This photo shows the large MUSE cryogenic system which provide cooling and vacuum for the 24 MUSE detectors.
https://www.eso.org/public/images/bacon-fig2/
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Please click this link for images of the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) instrument on the Very Large Telescope (VLT) at ESO’s Paranal Observatory, in the Atacama Desert in Chile:
https://tinyurl.com/y3rbrf4d