Hubble Space Telescope and ESO 300-16

Why in news?

• The Hubble Space Telescope captured an image of the irregular galaxy named ESO 300-16.

About ESO 300-16:

• ESO 300-16 is an irregular galaxy. It is located at a distance of 28.7 million lightyears in the southern constellation of Eridanus. 
• It is made of many tiny stars all clumped together, surrounded in a diffuse light. In the central, brightest part there is a bubble of blue gas.
• The galaxy is surrounded by mostly very small and faint objects, though there are bright stars above and to the left of it, and a string of galaxies nearby.

What is an Irregular Galaxy?

• An irregular galaxy is a galaxy that does not have a distinct regular shape, unlike a spiral or an elliptical galaxy. 
• Irregular galaxies have unusual shapes, like toothpicks, rings, or even little groupings of stars.
• They range from dwarf irregular galaxies with 100 million times the Sun’s mass to large ones weighing 10 billion solar masses.
• Irregular galaxies may hold significant amounts of gas and dust – essential ingredients for making new stars.

Formation:

• Astronomers think these galaxies’ odd shapes are sometimes the result of interactions with others. 
  • For example, one spiral galaxy passing another with a stronger gravitational pull could lose some of its material, become distorted, and morph into a new shape. Some, like gas-rich dwarf galaxies, may be new, formed by material pulled from such encounters (or) 
  • When galaxies collide, they create a larger, oddly shaped mashup. Some scientists theorize that some large irregular galaxies could represent an intermediate step between spiral and elliptical galaxies.

About Hubble Space Telescope:

• It is a space-borne observatory named after Edwin Powell Hubble-an astronomer and is part of NASA’s Great Observatories program.
• It is a joint ESA, NASA project and was launched in 1990 into a low-Earth orbit 569 km above the ground.
• It is the largest optical telescope ever launched into space.
• Design: At the heart of Hubble are a 2.4 m primary mirror and a collection of five science instruments that work across the entire optical spectrum — from infrared, through the visible, to ultraviolet light.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Consider the following statements regarding ‘Hubble Space Telescope’:

1. The telescope has been built by NASA, along with contributions from the European Space Agency (ESA)

2. It is the largest optical telescope ever launched into space

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Answer