This spiral galaxy, when seen in visible light, exhibits tightly wound spiral arms that give it a pinwheel shape similar to that of many other spirals. However, when the galaxy is viewed in ultraviolet light with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, its shape is startlingly different.

The Hubble image of NGC 6782 was taken with the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) in June 2000 as part of an ultraviolet survey of 37 nearby galaxies. The observations were carried out by an international "Hubble mid-UV team" led by Dr. Rogier Windhorst of Arizona State University.

Additional observations of NGC 6782 were made by the Hubble Heritage Team in June 2001. The color image was produced by combining data from both observing programs that were taken through color filters in the WFPC2 camera that isolated ultraviolet, blue, visible, and infrared light.

Credits: NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

Acknowledgment: R. Windhorst (ASU)

Electronic images, the full photo caption and additional information
are available at these URLs:

http://heritage.stsci.edu

http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/pr/2001/37

http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/latest.html

http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/pictures.html

http://hubble.stsci.edu/go/news

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).

[Contact: Dr. Rogier Windhorst, Dr. Keith Noll]

02-Nov-2001