Here we have wide field view of the compact blue dwarf galaxy NGC 5253, and its epic central starburst. It is something like a smaller, but slightly closer version of M82. Though NGC 5253 is less famous than M82 I still find it to be quite interesting—visually stunning, even. An image I submitted yesterday shows a very high resolution close-up of the core: flic.kr/p/WMcktQ flic.kr/p/WMcktQ

While this galaxy has been previously processed, I thought it would be better if some older narrowband WFPC2 were used to show off its H-alpha emissions, which are now seen clearly here as a bright pink cloud emanating from around the central area of the galaxy. I tried not to overprocess these clouds, but some might say I have. Still, others may say I didn't take it far enough, because it certainly could be pushed even further.

In the upper right and lower left corners are blank areas. I did not want to crop large sections of the galaxy and background off, so I filled these blank areas with a simple noise pattern so that they would not be distracting. H-alpha coverage is incomplete, but close enough that it does not appear to be missing much.

Data from the following two proposals was used. I used mosaics from the LEGUS page, as well as the mosaics from the HLA because some parts of the chip gaps in the LEGUS mosaics did not look very good.

The Discrete X-ray Source Population in NGC~5253, our nearest post-starburst galaxy WFPC2 Mapping of Dust Obscuration and Stellar Populations in Starburst Galaxies.

All channels, in a complicated, but mostly red color: WFPC2 F656N Red: ACS/WFC F814W Green: ACS/WFC F555W Blue: ACS/WFC F435W