Like dust bunnies that lurk in corners and under beds, surprisingly
complex loops and blobs of cosmic dust lie hidden in the giant
elliptical galaxy NGC 1316. This image made from data obtained in
March 2003 with the NASA Hubble Space Telescope reveals the dust
lanes and star clusters of this giant galaxy that give evidence that
it was formed from a past merger of two gas-rich galaxies.
Credit: NASA, ESA, and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)
Acknowledgment: P. Goudfrooij (STScI)
Electronic images and additional information are available at
For additional information, please contact:
Keith Noll, Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive,
Baltimore, Md. 21218, (phone) 410-338-1828, (fax) 410-338-4579,
(e-mail) noll@stsci.edu or
P. Goudfrooij, Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin
Drive, Baltimore, Md. 21218, (phone) 410-338-4981, (fax) 410-338-4579,
(e-mail) goudfroo@stsci.edu.
The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) is operated by the
Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc. (AURA), for
NASA, under contract with the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt,
MD. The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation
between NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).
