Technical facts about this news release: About the Object Object Name: Arp's Loop, A0952+69 Holmberg IX, UGC 5336 Object Description: Collection of Blue Stars Dwarf Irregular Galaxy Position (J2000): R.A. 09h 57m 36.s08 Dec. 69° 16' 59."5 R.A. 09h 57m 40.s16 Dec. 69° 02' 55."4 Constellation: Ursa Major Ursa Major Distance: 12 million light-years (3.6 Megaparsecs) 12 million light-years (3.6 Megaparsecs) About the Data Science Team: The science team comprises D. de Mello (GSFC/Catholic University of America, Washington/JHU), L. Smith (STScI/ESA/University College London), E. Sabbi (STScI), J. Gallagher (University of Wisconsin, Madison), M. Mountain (STScI), and D. Harbeck (University of Wisconsin, Madison). Data Description: The Hubble image of Arp's Loop was created from HST data from proposal 10915: J. Dalcanton (University of Washington). The Hubble image of Holmberg IX was created from HST data from proposal 10605: E. Skillman (University of Minnesota, Twin Cities). Instrument: ACS/WFC ACS/WFC Exposure Date(s): September 22, 2006 March 23, 2006 Filters: F435W (B) and F814W (I) F555W (V) and F814W (I) About the Image Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and D. de Mello (Catholic University of America and GSFC) NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) Release Date: January 8, 2008 January 8, 2008 Color: These images are a composite of separate exposures made by the ACS instrument on the Hubble Space Telescope. Two filters were used to sample broad wavelength ranges. The color results from assigning different hues (colors) to each monochromatic image. In this case, the assigned colors are: F435W (B) blue F435W (B) + F814W (I) green F814W (I) red F555W (V) cyan F814W (I) orange Orientation: [ http://imgsrc.hubblesite.org/hu/db/2008/02/images/b/formats/compass_large_web.jpg ] [ http://imgsrc.hubblesite.org/hu/db/2008/02/images/d/formats/compass_large_web.jpg ] What is Hubble Heritage? A monthly showcase of new and archival Hubble images. Go to the Heritage site. What is an American Astronomical Society Meeting release? A major news announcement issued at an American Astronomical Society meeting, the premier astronomy conference. Hubble Space Telescope's powerful vision has resolved strange objects nicknamed "blue blobs" and found them to be brilliant blue clusters of stars born in the swirls and eddies of a galactic smashup 200 million years ago. Such "blue blobs" weighing tens of thousands of solar masses have never been seen in detail before in such sparse locations, say researchers. The "blue blobs" are found along a wispy bridge of gas strung among three colliding galaxies, M81, M82, and NGC 3077, residing about 12 million light-years away from Earth. This is not the place astronomers expect to find star clusters, because the gas filaments were considered too thin to accumulate enough material to actually build these many stars. The star clusters in this diffuse structure might have formed from gas collisions and subsequent turbulence, which enhanced locally the density of the gas streams. Galaxy collisions were much more frequent in the early universe, so "blue blobs" should have been common. After the stars burned out or exploded, the heavier elements forged in their nuclear furnaces would have been ejected to enrich intergalactic space. Read more: * The Full Story [ http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2008/02/full/ ] *News Release Number:*: STScI-2008-02e

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