Le groupe de la galaxie M81 a travers la nebuleuse IFN (Integrated Flux Nebula)
Distant galaxies and nearby nebulas highlight this deep image of the
M81
Group of galaxies.
First and foremost in this 80-exposure mosaic is the
grand design spiral galaxy
M81, the largest galaxy in the image,
visible on the lower right.
M81 is
gravitationally interacting with
M82 just above it,
a large galaxy with an unusual halo of filamentary red-glowing gas.
Around the image many other galaxies from the
M81 Group of galaxies can be seen, as well as
many foreground Milky Way stars.
This whole
galaxy menagerie
is seen through the glow of an
Integrated
Flux Nebula (IFN), a vast and complex screen of diffuse gas and dust also in our
Milky Way Galaxy.
Details of the red and yellow
IFN, digitally enhanced, were imaged by a
new wide-field camera recently installed at the
Teide
Observatory in the
Canary Islands of
Spain.