What is an American Astronomical Society Meeting release?
A major news announcement issued at an American Astronomical Society meeting, the premier astronomy conference.
An analysis of the Hubble Space Telescope's deepest view of the universe offers compelling evidence that monster black holes in the centers of galaxies were not born big but grew over time through repeated galactic mergers. The Hubble Ultra Deep Field (HUDF) studies also confirm recent computer simulations that predict that newly merging galaxies are enshrouded in so much dust that astronomers cannot see black holes feasting on stars and gas from the mergers. The computer simulations, as supported by Hubble, suggest that it takes hundreds of millions to a billion years before enough dust clears so that astronomers can see the black holes feasting on stars and gas from the merger. These postage-stamp-size images reveal 36 young galaxies caught in the act of merging with other galaxies. These galaxies appear as they existed many billions of years ago. Astronomers have dubbed them "tadpole galaxies" because of their distinct knot-and-tail shapes, which suggest that they are engaging in galactic mergers.
What is an American Astronomical Society Meeting release?
A major news announcement issued at an American Astronomical Society meeting, the premier astronomy conference.
An analysis of the Hubble Space Telescope's deepest view of the universe offers compelling evidence that monster black holes in the centers of galaxies were not born big but grew over time through repeated galactic mergers. The Hubble Ultra Deep Field (HUDF) studies also confirm recent computer simulations that predict that newly merging galaxies are enshrouded in so much dust that astronomers cannot see black holes feasting on stars and gas from the mergers. The computer simulations, as supported by Hubble, suggest that it takes hundreds of millions to a billion years before enough dust clears so that astronomers can see the black holes feasting on stars and gas from the merger. These postage-stamp-size images reveal 36 young galaxies caught in the act of merging with other galaxies. These galaxies appear as they existed many billions of years ago. Astronomers have dubbed them "tadpole galaxies" because of their distinct knot-and-tail shapes, which suggest that they are engaging in galactic mergers.
*Credit:* NASA [ http://www.nasa.gov/], A. Straughn, S. Cohen, and R. Windhorst (Arizona State University), and the HUDF team (Space Telescope Science Institute [ http://www.stsci.ed…])
Acknowledgement
*Credit:* NASA [ http://www.nasa.gov/], A. Straughn, S. Cohen, and R. Windhorst (Arizona State University), and the HUDF team (Space Telescope Science Institute [ http://www.stsci.ed…])
Acknowledgement
Fast Facts:
Technical facts about this news release:
About the Object Object Name: Tadpole Galaxies in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (HUDF) Position of the HUDF (J2000): R.A. 03h 32m 40s.0 Dec. -27° 48' 00" Constellation: Fornax Dimensions: The full HUDF image is 3 arcminutes square. About the Data Data Description:
This image of the HUDF was created from HST data from the following proposal: 9978: S. Beckwith, S. Malhotra, M. Giavalisco, N. Panagia, J. Rhoads, M. Stiavelli, R. Somerville, S. Casertano, B. Margon, C. Blades, J. Caldwell, and M. Clampin (STScI), M. Corbin (CSC), M. Dickinson, H. Ferguson, and A. Fruchter (STScI), R. Hook (STScI/ECF), S. Jogee, A. Koekemoer, R. Lucas, M. Sosey, and L. Bergeron (STScI).
The science team includes: A.N. Straughn, S.H. Cohen, R.E. Ryan Jr, N.P. Hathi, R.A. Windhorst, & R.A. Jansen (Arizona State University), A.M. Koekemoer, N. Pirzkal, C. Xu, B. Mobasher, S. Malhotra, L.-G.Strolger, and J.E. Rhoads (STScI).
Instrument: ACS/WFC Exposure Date(s): September 24, 2003 - January 16, 2004 Exposure Time: 11.3 days Filters: F435W ("B"), F606W ("V"), F775W ("i"), F850LP ("z") About the Image Image Credit: NASA, ESA, A. Straughn, S. Cohen and R. Windhorst (Arizona State University), and the HUDF team (STScI) Release Date: January 10, 2006
Fast_Facts
Technical facts about this news release:
About the Object Object Name: Tadpole Galaxies in the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (HUDF) Position of the HUDF (J2000): R.A. 03h 32m 40s.0 Dec. -27° 48' 00" Constellation: Fornax Dimensions: The full HUDF image is 3 arcminutes square. About the Data Data Description:
This image of the HUDF was created from HST data from the following proposal: 9978: S. Beckwith, S. Malhotra, M. Giavalisco, N. Panagia, J. Rhoads, M. Stiavelli, R. Somerville, S. Casertano, B. Margon, C. Blades, J. Caldwell, and M. Clampin (STScI), M. Corbin (CSC), M. Dickinson, H. Ferguson, and A. Fruchter (STScI), R. Hook (STScI/ECF), S. Jogee, A. Koekemoer, R. Lucas, M. Sosey, and L. Bergeron (STScI).
The science team includes: A.N. Straughn, S.H. Cohen, R.E. Ryan Jr, N.P. Hathi, R.A. Windhorst, & R.A. Jansen (Arizona State University), A.M. Koekemoer, N. Pirzkal, C. Xu, B. Mobasher, S. Malhotra, L.-G.Strolger, and J.E. Rhoads (STScI).
Instrument: ACS/WFC Exposure Date(s): September 24, 2003 - January 16, 2004 Exposure Time: 11.3 days Filters: F435W ("B"), F606W ("V"), F775W ("i"), F850LP ("z") About the Image Image Credit: NASA, ESA, A. Straughn, S. Cohen and R. Windhorst (Arizona State University), and the HUDF team (STScI) Release Date: January 10, 2006
Fast Facts
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*Image Type:*: Astronomical
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*Image Type:*: Astronomical
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*Release Date*:January 10, 2006 10:30 AM (EST)
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*Release Date*:January 10, 2006 10:30 AM (EST)
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*Title*:Monster Black Holes Grow After Galactic Mergers
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*Title*:Monster Black Holes Grow After Galactic Mergers
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*News Release Number:*: STScI-2006-04a
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*News Release Number:*: STScI-2006-04a
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*Description*:
These postage-stamp-size images reveal 36 young galaxies caught in the act of merging with other galaxies. These galaxies appear as they existed many billions of years ago. Astronomers have dubbed them "tadpole galaxies" because of their distinct knot-and-tail shapes, which suggest that they are engaging in galactic mergers.
The galaxies were captured in 2004 in the Hubble Space Telescope's Ultra Deep Field (HUDF) survey of thousands of distant galaxies. They are part of more than 165 tadpole galaxies in the HUDF studied recently by a team of astronomers. The team was looking for indications of black hole activity in these young galaxies. A characteristic signature of such activity is a fluctuation in brightness over time, an indication that a black hole is feasting on surrounding stars and gas. The flickering light does not come from the black hole itself but from the area immediately surrounding the black hole. Astronomers did not see brightness fluctuations in any of the tadpole galaxies they surveyed. They did, however, observe the fluctuations in 46 different faint galaxies in the HUDF. These galaxies existed millions of years after the tadpole galaxies. This result suggests that black holes did not begin eating when galaxies merged. Rather, it took several hundred million years for the gas and stars from the merger to arrive on the black hole's dinner plate and become visible as flickering light. This finding agrees with recent computer models which predicted that the feeding habits of black holes would become visible after galactic mergers.
Each postage-stamp image is roughly 84,000 light-years on a side, which is about the size of our Milky Way Galaxy today. The tadpole galaxies are shown in the middle of each image and are considerably smaller than today's giant galaxies. The image was taken by Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys.
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*Description*:
These postage-stamp-size images reveal 36 young galaxies caught in the act of merging with other galaxies. These galaxies appear as they existed many billions of years ago. Astronomers have dubbed them "tadpole galaxies" because of their distinct knot-and-tail shapes, which suggest that they are engaging in galactic mergers.
The galaxies were captured in 2004 in the Hubble Space Telescope's Ultra Deep Field (HUDF) survey of thousands of distant galaxies. They are part of more than 165 tadpole galaxies in the HUDF studied recently by a team of astronomers. The team was looking for indications of black hole activity in these young galaxies. A characteristic signature of such activity is a fluctuation in brightness over time, an indication that a black hole is feasting on surrounding stars and gas. The flickering light does not come from the black hole itself but from the area immediately surrounding the black hole. Astronomers did not see brightness fluctuations in any of the tadpole galaxies they surveyed. They did, however, observe the fluctuations in 46 different faint galaxies in the HUDF. These galaxies existed millions of years after the tadpole galaxies. This result suggests that black holes did not begin eating when galaxies merged. Rather, it took several hundred million years for the gas and stars from the merger to arrive on the black hole's dinner plate and become visible as flickering light. This finding agrees with recent computer models which predicted that the feeding habits of black holes would become visible after galactic mergers.
Each postage-stamp image is roughly 84,000 light-years on a side, which is about the size of our Milky Way Galaxy today. The tadpole galaxies are shown in the middle of each image and are considerably smaller than today's giant galaxies. The image was taken by Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys.
