UIT observes Starburst Activity in M77

Nasa’s Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UIT) observed the inner disk of the

giant Seyfert spiral galaxy M77. This galaxy shows intense star-forming

activity at UV wavelengths. The UV-bright knots of starburst activity seem

to be closely associated with an inner bar of older stars (shown in the red

visible light image).

Compare to UIT observations of M100, where

star formation was observed as well.

M77 image from the Astro 1 mission: False color UV image

(probably a pseudocolor rendition of 1500/2500 Angstrom UIT exposures;

thanks to Bill Keel for this hint)

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Hartmut Frommert

([email protected])

Christine Kronberg

([email protected])

Last Modification: 6 Apr 1999, 13:50 MET