Hopkins Ultraviolet Telescope team members because huge loops and filaments of gas have been thrown above and below the galaxy's central region. Astronomers believe this may be a bubble of gas produced by supernova explosions, with very strong stellar winds blowing material out of the galaxy. UIT's ultraviolet images of NGC 4631 will be used to determine how stellar populations are distributed in the galaxy. In addition, they will compare photographs made in different wavelengths with various camera filters to help determine the location of the hot gas, its temperature profile, and its distance from the galactic disk. The Hercules Cluster of galaxies, also viewed by the Astro telescopes today, furnishes another laboratory for the study of star formation.
Galaxy clusters are the largest gravitationally bound groupings in the universe.
Such clusters generally contain both elliptical galaxies, which contain few new stars, and spiral galaxies, which contain many young, ultraviolet-bright stars. UIT also led observations of two objects near the end of the stellar life cycle, globular clusters NGC 6752 and M 13. Ultraviolet studies of old stars within the clusters, near the very end of their lives, could provide better tests for the ages and life cycles of stars. This morning's study of dwarf nova WX Hydri is the second observation of this system, whose decline from outburst is being studied. WX Hydri sometimes becomes over eight times brighter during an outburst, increasing from a magnitude of about 14.8 during quiet periods to around 11 at its brightest.