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| Date: | 6.5.1995 | Time: | 21:50 UT | Exposure: | B:600s; V,I:400s |
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| Field of View: | 14.0' x 7.9' | Receiver: | HoLiCam, 20482 CCD | Filter: | B, V, I |
| Instrument: | 1m, f=3680mm | Observatory: | Hoher List | Observer: | S. Kohle, T. Credner |
Astronomical Institutes of the University of Bonn
This three color composite made out of exposures in the B, V, and I filters represents a view similar to the impression of a naked eye view through a very big telescope. The only difference is that the I filter is sensitive to the near infrared rather than the normal red.
NGC 4631 is a spiral galaxy seen edge on which shows obvious signs of interaction with the nearby dwarf galaxy seen in the lower part of the image above. The disk is not perfectly flat but shows "warps" on both sides. The different colors in the image represent different states of stellar evolution. The disk of NGC 4631 shows many blue knots whose light is dominated by young massive stars. The light of the yellow-green component is dominated by "mid-age" stars and the red color of the bulge in the center of the galaxy is due to an old population of red giants. In the disk of NGC 4631 you can see many dark filaments which are clouds of dust which absorb and redden the light of all stars behind.