Image: UGC 4459

Description: UGC 4459 (2014) This one was a little harder. It’s fainter and more diffuse than the previous couple of dwarf galaxies I’ve processed. It is difficult for me to imagine all of these dwarf galaxies evolving over the eons. This one looks pretty jumbled. A lot of them are disorganized like this. What happened here, recently? Will it smooth out into an ellipsoid if left largely unperturbed by outside forces? I’m also surprised by the amount of star formation that goes on in dwarf galaxies. They’re so unassuming. It is easy to trace the outlines of a couple of Strömgren spheres. Maybe not so easy for the more complex cloud of H-alpha on the right. No chip gap, this time. The LEGUS data still did not totally overlap with the F814W and F555W this time so in places where blue is missing, green is pseudo, red is F814W, and blue is F555W. I had some old WFPC2 H-alpha data to use this time. Nice! This image is possible thanks to the individuals responsible for Proposal 10605, Proposal 11987, and the LEGUS Survey. Red: HST_10605_05_ACS_WFC_F814W_sci + hst_11987_01_wfpc2_f656n_wf_sci Green: HST_10605_05_ACS_WFC_F555W_sci Blue: WFC3 / UVIS F275W + F336W + F438W (All three from LEGUS) North is NOT up. It is 32° clockwise from up.
Title: UGC 4459
Credit: http://www.geckzilla.com/art/v/430; see also http://www.spacetelescope.org/images/potw1613a/
Author: Hubble Space Telescope/Judy Schmidt
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
License: CC BY 3.0
License Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
Attribution Required?: Yes