New Discoveries #5 - Deep space, galactic, solar system, etc.

Palomar · 2005-06-25 07:03:04

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010302.html]LkHa101

*Astropix always full of surprises. The "hole" in this massive newborn star is roughly a billion kilometers across. LkHa101 is "in" the constellation Perseus.

A bright source of ultraviolet light, the hot young star itself is much fainter in the infrared and so not visible in this picture.

Says the star's intense radiation and stellar winds have carved out the hole. The torus-shaped gas and dust cloud appears slightly tilted from our vantage point.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-06-27 10:29:27

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap971015.html]*If you're going to this nebula any time soon...

...you'd best bundle up really good. Its nebular gas makes it the coldest-known region in the observed distant universe: Just 1 degree above Absolute Zero or -458 F. Yipes.

The boomerang shaped cloud appears to have been created by a high-speed wind of gas and dust blowing from an aging central star at speeds of over 300,000 miles per hour.

A different source said 600,000 mph. ??? Anyway, the rapid expansion of gas/dust from that wind is what caused the cooling.

Is called the Boomerang Nebula, is 5000 l/y distant "in" the constellation Centaurus.

Amazing universe...

--Cindy

P.S.: It's also believed to be progressing towards a planetary nebula phase.

Palomar · 2005-06-28 05:44:26

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050626.html]The 2MASS Galaxy Sky

*Upscaled:

Visible above is an incredible tapestry of structure that provides limits on how the universe formed and evolved. Many galaxies are gravitationally bound together to form clusters, which themselves are loosely bound into superclusters, which in turn are sometimes seen to align over even larger scale structures.

Shows that nearest galaxies are not randomly distributed.

The vertical blue sash in the image are from very bright stars in our own Milky Way Galaxy.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-06-29 06:23:47

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050627.html]M22: Silver & Gold

*That is one awesome glitterball. Possesses over 100,000 stars.

So far, about 140 globular clusters are known to exist in a roughly spherical halo around the Galactic center. Globular clusters do not appear spherically distributed as viewed from the Earth, and this fact was a key point in the determination that our Sun is not at the center of our Galaxy.

The mechanics of a cluster such as this is interesting. It "resides in" Sagittarius, at a distance of 10,400 light years. It's one of the closer globular clusters to us.

-*-

And on a related note:

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap0207 … Simulation: Star cluster in motion

This is fabulous. Where has Astropix been hiding this beaut?

Is a time-lapse sim of hundreds of years passing in 1 second.

Star clusters are a swarm of complex motions. The stars that compose globular clusters and many open clusters all orbit the cluster center, occasionally interacting, gravitationally, with a close-passing star. The orbits of stars around the cluster are typically not as circular as the orbits of planets in our solar system. Cluster stars frequently fall more directly toward the center and many times trace out unusual and complex loops. The vast space inside a cluster results in stars colliding only rarely.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-06-30 05:13:30

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.htm … ]Scientist redefines Cosmic Clock to determine age of Milky Way

*Study involved the decay of uranium-238 and thorium-232, which are "long-lived radioactive elements." Says it didn't take long after the Big Bang for huge structures like our Milky Way to form. This guy's method dates the MWG at 14.5 billion years, give or take 2 billion years (yeah...what's 2 billion frickin' years anyway, huh? [Just kidding...cosmological scheme and all that, of course]). This is consistent with previous estimations of 12.2 billion years.

The study also focused on the characteristics of globular clusters and white dwarf stars. GC's reside on the outskirts of the MW and their stars are very old.

The processes of stellar evolution suggested that most of the stars in globular clusters are nearly as old as the galaxy itself. When the big bang occurred 13.7 billion years ago, the only elements in the universe were hydrogen, helium and a small quantity of lithium. The Milky Way's globular clusters have to be nearly that old because they contain mostly hydrogen and helium. Younger stars contain heavier elements that were recycled from the remains of older stars, which initially forged these heavier elements in their cores via nuclear fusion.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-06-30 15:49:33

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.htm … Scientists discover mineral...

*...that came from an ancient supernova. Silicate grains, olivine. Study from NASA and U of Az. Says these grains and other ET dust were obtained from Earth's upper atmosphere by NASA research aircraft. Apparently the grains and dust were deposited via comet or a primitive asteroid (hmmmm...I wonder what else is floating around up there...besides space junk I mean, ha ha).

Says this discovery gives new physical evidence needed to
"verify complex numerical models of supernovae explosions."

"We know from astronomical observations that crystalline silicates formed in stars are quickly destroyed by the harsh environment in the interstellar medium," Keller said, "so the survival of these grains in pristine condition is remarkable."

That's groovy.

Outlines olivine's "intriguing history."

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-07-02 07:39:06

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000906.html]CRL 618: In the act

*Was recently (few hundred years ago) a red giant. It's currently in a proto-planetary nebula phase. Not much is yet known about the evolution of planetary nebulae. Complex rings and jets are being expelled in excess of 700,000 km per hour.

In a few thousand years, the glowing core of the cool red giant will be bare, revealing a hot white dwarf star.

Says it also has

an extraordinary abundance of carbon-chain molecules.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-07-07 07:56:30

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040212.html]This star...

*Has the distinction of being the 1st known to us to have survived the supernova of its binary companion. Is located in M81, "in" the constellation Ursa Major.

The supernova companion was likely 10 times as massive as Sol. Light from that event reached us 10 years ago; it's been catalogued as SN 1993J.

Though the supernova itself is no longer visible, light-echoes from dust in the region can still be seen near the companion, the first known survivor of a supernova in a binary star system. Astronomers believe that a substantial transfer of material to the surviving companion star during the last few hundred years before the stellar explosion can explain peculiarities seen in this supernova.

I wonder how close the pair were and the differences in their physical characteristics?

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-07-08 11:42:57

http://www.quantumhyperspace.com/Pluto.html]Not a new discovery per se...

*But an accomplishment. Amateur astronomer named C. Bell managed to capture a photo of Pluto using a backyard 12-inch telescope.

Will put this here instead of creating a new thread.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-07-12 05:38:34

http://www.space.com/imageoftheday/imag … 2.html]New supernova: M51

*Whirlpool Galaxy in Canes Venatici. Short article discusses supernova types (most folks here likely familiar with those).

If not for supernovae, the calcium in our bones or iron in our blood probably wouldn’t exist.

We are star stuff.

Finding progenitor stars like the one in M51 is very rare. It was first reported on June 28. Photo taken June 30.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-07-14 11:08:22

http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish … ]Superwind from a galaxy

*...named LAB-2. This galaxy is 300,000 light years across, its disc is 3 times larger than that of our Milky Way Galaxy, it is a whopping 11.5 billion light years distant. It's sustained a tremendous explosion which is hurtling extremely powerful winds along at speeds up to several hundred miles per second, nearly tearing that galaxy apart in the process.

Astronomers have observed high-speed outflows in distant star-forming galaxies for several years, but never before have we been able to gauge their true scale from observations of a single galaxy.

Speculation as to what fuels these hellacious winds:

The driving force behind them is the explosion of many massive stars during an intense burst of star formation early in the galaxy's life, possibly assisted by energy from a super massive black hole growing at its heart.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-07-17 11:12:30

*Prepare to have your socks blown off:

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050717.html]-*- WOW! -*-

A "mere" 10 million l/y away.

A fantastic jumble of young blue star clusters, gigantic glowing gas clouds, and imposing dark dust lanes surrounds the central region of the active galaxy Centaurus A.

They call it a cosmic maelstrom...I like that. Its central black hole might be a billion times the mass of Sol.

Centaurus A is believed to have resulted from two galaxies colliding.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-07-19 09:43:59

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020125.html]Gentle grandeur

*Delicate, lovely spiral galaxy. Can see knots of bluish stars scattered throughout. A unique photo and galaxy.

Is NGC 4622. Aprox 100 million l/y distant, it's located "in" the constellation Centaurus.

In which direction are its arms rotating?

a closer look at this galaxy reveals that a pronounced inner spiral arm winds in the opposite direction. So which way is this galaxy rotating? Recent evidence combining ground-based spectroscopy and the sharp Hubble image data surprisingly indicates that the galaxy is likely rotating clockwise in the picture, its outer spiral arms opening outward in the direction of rotation

Speculation it may have collided in the past with a smaller companion galaxy.

--Cindy

P.S.: Yeah, I know there's probably explosions and collisions and catastrophes occurring within the galaxy...but from here it looks gentle and peaceful. :;): So I'll indulge that sentiment.

Palomar · 2005-07-20 15:26:34

Whos]http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap991101.html]Who's a rotten egg?

*Can't believe I've never posted about THIS nebula before (I checked my notes).

The gas cloud has been dubbed the Rotten Egg Planetary Nebula because it contains unusually high amounts of sulfur, an element that, when combined with other elements, can smell like a rotten egg.

They're predicting it'll disperse within a few thousand years. Possesses jets of streaming gas. The star which blew this nebula was probably a lot like our Sol.

So many Sol-like stars with extremely varied post-supernova nebulae. It's pointless to wonder (considering it's billions of years hence)...but I -have- often wondered what Sol's nebula will look like.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-07-21 05:37:40

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/0 … .html]Eros (Asteroid) Update

::sigh:: I know we had 2 threads previously established pertaining to Eros but I can't find them via Search. I also scrolled back through 12 pages of this folder. :? Well...I -tried- for continuity anyway.

The article discusses that 4.7 mile-wide impact crater on Eros, which is thought to be recent. Harkens back to the 2000 - 2001 mission. Eros is the most well-studied of all our asteroids. It's 20 miles long by 8 miles wide. Eros should (and has, in the past) possess more craters, and some seem to have "vanished"; its relatively smooth surface is puzzling.

Seismic waves from Eros' interior may have "jiggled" former craters out of existence.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-07-21 10:12:11

http://www.space.com/imageoftheday/imag … 5-year-old candle in the night...

*Cool. A star which went supernova in 1979 continues to shine as brightly in X-rays as it did shortly after the explosion. Is an unexpected finding because "such objects usually fade significantly after only a few months."

SN 1979C is in M100, a galaxy 60 million l/y distant in the Virgo Cluster.

It also gives no indications of "letting up" any time soon.

Yet more mysteries about SN 1979C:

Among the many unique finds, Immler said, is the history of the star's stellar wind dating back 16,000 years before the explosion. Such a history is not even known about our Sun. Also, the scientists could measure the density of the material around the star, another first.
The lingering mystery, though, is how this star could fade away in visible light yet remain so radiant in X-rays.
"All the important information that usually fades away in a couple of months is still there."

--Cindy

srmeaney · 2005-07-21 10:59:54

I like the pinwheel star... Is it orbiting a black hole?

Palomar · 2005-07-26 05:23:43

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050723.html

*Ring Nebula (M57) in a composite 3-exposure photo. Is 2000 l/y distant. In the background is IC 1296, a 200 million l/y-distant galaxy which shows barred and spiral features. Look closely: That galaxy also has a faint ring around it. I think that's the most interesting feature of this photo. A galaxy with barred and spiral and ringed features? Cool.

--Cindy 8)

Palomar · 2005-07-26 07:06:30

http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=17494

NASA Telescope Reveals Nearby Galaxy's Invisible Arms

*Concerns NGC 4625. Am pressed for time, will copy and paste pertinent info:

shows that a galaxy once thought to be rather plain and old is actually endowed with a gorgeous set of young spiral arms.
The unusual galaxy is a remarkable find because it is relatively nearby. Until now, astronomers had thought that this kind of youthful glow in galaxies was a thing of the past.

"This galaxy is an amazing surprise," ... "We are practically up-close and personal with a galaxy undergoing an evolutionary stage that was thought to occur only at the dawn of the universe, in very young and faraway galaxies."

Speculation about stars developing first in a galactic core, then (later) in galactic arms.

Previous visible-light images of NGC 4625 showed only an oval-shaped ball of light, with very faint hints of a halo of spiral arms. These arms were finally revealed to the ultraviolet eyes of the Galaxy Evolution Explorer. Their intense brightness indicates that the arms are teeming with hot, newborn stars, which shine primarily with ultraviolet light.

Wonderful.

Says the arm stars are aprox 1 billion years old, whereas the main-body stars are roughly 10 billion years old. This galaxy's arms are also very long and extend 4 times "beyond the size" of the galaxy's core.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-07-26 14:56:59

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap970925.html]T Pyxidis: Recurrent Nova

*Binary system 6,000 l/y distant, "in" the constellation Pyxis. Involves a dense white dwarf and its companion star. Repeated intense explosions occurring due to matter from the companion being dumped onto the white dwarf; after enough accumulation it reaches "the nuclear flash point for hydrogen." This occurs every few years. The white dwarf isn't otherwise effected.

Interesting bit on blobs:

This image of nova T Pyx captures what appear to be blobs rather than the expected shells of material expanding from this interacting star system

To be flung away in blobs...geez.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-07-27 06:37:47

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050131.html]Splendor near Puppis

*Lovely. Just now found it at Astropix. Various stages of star formation present within NGC 2467. Many of its stars are perhaps 17,000 l/y distant. NGC 2467 lies towards the southern constellation of Puppis.

In the lower left-hand corner is a very young star emerging from its gaseous birth cocoon. Dark dust lanes and what looks like globules.

The group of stars to the left are not likely responsible for the formation of the nebula. Pretty colors, too.

--Cindy

Stormrage · 2005-07-27 11:13:50

Why is it that we can see nubleas and stars lightyears away yet we can't see what's beyond our solar system.

Palomar · 2005-07-27 13:34:54

Why is it that we can see nubleas and stars lightyears away yet we can't see what's beyond our solar system.

:?:

Well...of course those objects -are- beyond our Solar System.

You referring to objects in the Kuiper Belt, Oort Cloud and the like? Objects just beyond our Solar System but still "nearby"? A couple of threads have been devoted to Kuiper Belt objects (particularly Quaoar) in the Science & Technology folder. There have been telescopic observations and etc. Comb through and you'll find a few. I can't vouch for the reliability of the Search feature; you may have to scroll through previous pages.

Good luck.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-07-28 08:24:00

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000104.html]Galaxies dot the sky like jewels...

*Gorgeous photo.

The Great Attractor is a diffuse mass concentration fully 250 million light-years away, but so large it pulls our own Milky Way Galaxy and millions of others galaxies towards it. Many of the galaxies in ACO 3627 are slowly heading towards collisions with each other.

Formerly known as the Norma Cluster (due to its location "near" the southern constellation of Norma). It's previously gone rather unstudied due to our Milky Way Galaxy's dust obscurring its light, from our vantage point.

--Cindy

Palomar · 2005-07-29 05:29:08

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050725.html]Unusual Gas Filaments Surround Galaxy NGC 1275

*Is the central dominant galaxy of the Perseus Cluster of Galaxies. NGC 1275 is roughly 100,000 l/y across and 230 million l/y distant, toward the constellation Perseus. They're unsure what has caused the unusual filaments; the artificial pink color represents hydrogen. Apparently there was a collision between two galaxies in the past; was that collision responsible for the filaments or perhaps they're due to a central black hole's interactions with intracluster gas?

--Cindy

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