Dwarf Galaxies in the Coma Cluster
Ssc2007 10a

Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/L. Jenkins (GSFC)

Observation • May 28th, 2007 • ssc2007-10a

ssc2007-10a

This false-color mosaic of the central region of the Coma cluster combines infrared and visible-light images to reveal thousands of faint objects (green). Follow-up observations showed that many of these objects, which appear here as faint green smudges, are dwarf galaxies belonging to the cluster. Two large elliptical galaxies, NGC 4889 and NGC 4874, dominate the cluster's center. The mosaic combines visible-light data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (color coded blue) with long- and short-wavelength infrared views (red and green, respectively) from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.

About the Object

Name
Coma Cluster
Type
Galaxy > Type > Elliptical
Galaxy > Size > Giant
Galaxy > Size > Dwarf
Galaxy > Grouping > Cluster
Distance
320,000,000 Light Years
Redshift
0.231

Color Mapping

Band Wavelength Telescope
Optical 550 nm SDSS
Optical 700 nm SDSS
Optical 900 nm SDSS
Infrared 3.6 µm Spitzer IRAC
Infrared 4.5 µm Spitzer IRAC
Infrared 8.0 µm Spitzer IRAC

Astrometrics

Position (J2000)
RA =13h 0m 33.5s
Dec = 28° 5' 57.0"
Field of View
41.7 x 36.2 arcminutes
Orientation
North is 11.8° right of vertical