Centaurus A Extreme Deep Field - 130 hours

Astro Pro-Am: Professional and Amateur Astronomers Join Forces

Collaboration with NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory Center

The above image is the result of a collaboration between NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory Center and amateur astrophotographer Rolf Wahl Olsen.
It is part of a series of professional-amateur collaboration images and was combined by Science Imager Joseph DePasquale from Chandra X-ray Observatory Center, using both X-ray, optical and infrared data.

The image is composed of the following data:

• My deep 120 hour optical image Centaurus A Extreme Deep Field taken over 43 nights in 2013.
• 230 hours of Chandra X-ray data gathered over the past 15 years.
• Infrared data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.

The combined exposure time is in excess of an astonishing 350 hours, or two weeks; more than the Hubble Ultra Deep Field.

Below are links to the official press releases including the other spectacular images in the series (M101, M81 and M51) with optical data by German astrophotographer Detlef Hartmann:

• Chandra Press Release
• Spitzer Press Release
• Individual images for download

For full details on the Centaurus A Extreme Deep Field project please visit my Centaurus A gallery

If you are an amateur astrophotographer, or even just an 'armchair astronomer', and would like to get involved with astronomical research then the International Astronomical Union has an excellent page with information on how to get involved in citizen science projects or Pro-Am collaborations.

(Centaurus A Pro-Am image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO; Optical: Rolf Olsen; Infrared: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

CentaurusAxrayopticalinfraredNASAChandraextremedeepfieldspaceastronomygalaxynebulajet