Daniela Calzetti talks with
ScienceWatch.com and answers a few questions about
this month's Fast Moving Front in the field of Space
Science. The author has also sent along images of
their work.
Article: Star formation in NGC 5194 (M51a): The
panchromatic view from GALEX to Spitzer
Authors:
Calzetti,
D, et al.
Journal: ASTROPHYS J, 633 (2): 871-893 Part 1 NOV 10
2005
Addresses: Space Telescope Sci Inst, 3700 San Martin Dr,
Baltimore, MD 21218 USA.
Space Telescope Sci Inst, Baltimore, MD 21218 USA.
Univ Arizona, Steward Observ, Tucson, AZ 85721 USA.
(addresses have been truncated)
Figure 1: "The galaxy pair M51, formed by
the giant spiral M51a and the small
elliptical companion M51b, is shown in a
three-color rendition that overlaps images
from three telescopes: the ultraviolet
GALEX telescope in space, the ground-based
2.1-m telescope at NOAO at visible
wavelengths, and the Spitzer Space
Telescope in the infrared.
The blue color in the figure traces the
ultraviolet light emitted by the young
massive stars in the system (from the GALEX
telescope), the green color traces the gas
excited by the young stars which emits at
visible wavelengths (from the NOAO
telescope), and the red color shows the
location of the dust heated by the stars
and emitting in the infrared (from the
Spitzer telescope). The three-color figure
shows strikingly how well the massive
stars, the gas and the dust emission trace
each other. Reproduced from Calzetti et
al., Astrophysical Journal
[633] 871, 2005, by permission of the
AAS."