Credit: Credit for the Hubble image: NASA and ESA Acknowledgement: K.D. Kuntz (GSFC), F. Bresolin (University of Hawaii), J. Trauger (JPL), J. Mould (NOAO), and Y.-H. Chu (University of Illinois, Urbana) Credit for ground-based images: CFHT image - Canada-France-
This Hubble Space Telescope image of the face-on spiral galaxy Messier 101 (M101) is the largest and most detailed photo of a spiral galaxy that has been released from Hubble. The image is composed of 51 individual Hubble exposures, in addition to image elements from ground-based photos. The final composite image measures a whopping 16,000x12,000 pixels. The Hubble archived images were taken in March 1994, September 1994, June 1999, November 2002, and January 2003. The Hubble exposures have been superimposed onto ground-based images, visible at the edge of the image, taken at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope in Hawaii and the 0.9-meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona. The final color image was assembled from individual exposures taken through blue, green, and red (infrared) filters.