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Amazing Andromeda Galaxy
Title Amazing Andromeda Galaxy
Description The many "personalities" of our great galactic neighbor, the Andromeda galaxy, are exposed in this new composite image from NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer and the Spitzer Space Telescope. The wide, ultraviolet eyes of Galaxy Evolution Explorer reveal Andromeda's "fiery" nature -- hotter regions brimming with young and old stars. In contrast, Spitzer's super-sensitive infrared eyes show Andromeda's relatively "cool" side, which includes embryonic stars hidden in their dusty cocoons. Galaxy Evolution Explorer detected young, hot, high-mass stars, which are represented in blue, while populations of relatively older stars are shown as green dots. The bright yellow spot at the galaxy's center depicts a particularly dense population of old stars. Swaths of red in the galaxy's disk indicate areas where Spitzer found cool, dusty regions where stars are forming. These stars are still shrouded by the cosmic clouds of dust and gas that collapsed to form them. Together, Galaxy Evolution Explorer and Spitzer complete the picture of Andromeda's swirling spiral arms. Hints of pinkish purple depict regions where the galaxy's populations of hot, high-mass stars and cooler, dust-enshrouded stars co-exist. Located 2.5 million light-years away, the Andromeda is our largest nearby galactic neighbor. The galaxy's entire disk spans about 260,000 light-years, which means that a light beam would take 260,000 years to travel from one end of the galaxy to the other. By comparison, our Milky Way galaxy's disk is about 100,000 light-years across. This image is a false color composite comprised of data from Galaxy Evolution Explorer's far-ultraviolet detector (blue), near-ultraviolet detector (green), and Spitzer's multiband imaging photometer at 24 microns (red).
The Trifid Nebula: Stellar S …
Title The Trifid Nebula: Stellar Sibling Rivalry
Deepest View of Space Yields …
Title Deepest View of Space Yields Young Stars in Andromeda Halo
Deepest View of Space Yields …
Title Deepest View of Space Yields Young Stars in Andromeda Halo
Deepest View of Space Yields …
Title Deepest View of Space Yields Young Stars in Andromeda Halo
Deepest View of Space Yields …
Title Deepest View of Space Yields Young Stars in Andromeda Halo
Deepest View of Space Yields …
Title Deepest View of Space Yields Young Stars in Andromeda Halo
Deepest View of Space Yields …
Title Deepest View of Space Yields Young Stars in Andromeda Halo
Deepest View of Space Yields …
Title Deepest View of Space Yields Young Stars in Andromeda Halo
Deepest View of Space Yields …
Title Deepest View of Space Yields Young Stars in Andromeda Halo
Deepest View of Space Yields …
Title Deepest View of Space Yields Young Stars in Andromeda Halo
Deepest View of Space Yields …
Title Deepest View of Space Yields Young Stars in Andromeda Halo
Deepest View of Space Yields …
Title Deepest View of Space Yields Young Stars in Andromeda Halo
Deepest View of Space Yields …
Title Deepest View of Space Yields Young Stars in Andromeda Halo
Deepest View of Space Yields …
Title Deepest View of Space Yields Young Stars in Andromeda Halo
Hubble Finds Mysterious Disk …
Title Hubble Finds Mysterious Disk of Blue Stars Around Black Hole
Hubble Finds Mysterious Disk …
Title Hubble Finds Mysterious Disk of Blue Stars Around Black Hole
Hubble Finds Mysterious Disk …
Title Hubble Finds Mysterious Disk of Blue Stars Around Black Hole
Hubble Finds Mysterious Disk …
Title Hubble Finds Mysterious Disk of Blue Stars Around Black Hole
Hubble Finds Mysterious Disk …
Title Hubble Finds Mysterious Disk of Blue Stars Around Black Hole
Hubble Finds Mysterious Disk …
Title Hubble Finds Mysterious Disk of Blue Stars Around Black Hole
Hubble Finds Mysterious Disk …
Title Hubble Finds Mysterious Disk of Blue Stars Around Black Hole
Hubble Finds Mysterious Disk …
Title Hubble Finds Mysterious Disk of Blue Stars Around Black Hole
Hubble Finds Mysterious Disk …
Title Hubble Finds Mysterious Disk of Blue Stars Around Black Hole
X For Andromeda
Title X For Andromeda
Explanation A big beautiful spiral galaxy 2 million light-years away, Andromeda (M31) [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap991114.html ] has long been touted as an analog to the Milky Way, a distant mirror of our own galaxy. The popular 1960s British sci-fi series, A For Andromeda [ http://www.cs.monash.edu.au/~lloyd/tildeImages/Film/ Andromeda/index.html ], even postulated that it was home to another technological civilization that communicated [ http://www.bigear.org/vol1no2/sagan.htm ] with us. Using the newly unleashed observing power of the orbiting Chandra [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990727.html ] X-ray telescope, astronomers have now imaged [ http://chandra.harvard.edu/press/00_releases/press_011400m31.html ] the center of our near-twin island universe [ ftp://crux.astr.ua.edu/web/goodies/data_resources/galaxies.text ], finding evidence for an object so bizarre it would have impressed many 60s science fiction [ http://www.magicdragon.com/UltimateSF/timeline1970.html ] writers (and readers). Like the Milky Way [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000120.html ], Andromeda's galactic center appears to harbor an X-ray source characteristic of a black hole [ http://chandra.harvard.edu/xray_sources/black_holes.html ] of a million or more solar masses. Seen above, the false-color X-ray picture [ http://chandra.harvard.edu/photo/cycle1/0007/index.html ] shows a number of X-ray sources, likely X-ray binary stars [ http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/binary.html ], within Andromeda's central region as yellowish dots. The blue source located right at the galaxy's center is coincident with the position of the suspected massive black hole. While the X-rays [ http://chandra.harvard.edu/xray_astro/xrays.html ] are produced as material falls into the black hole and heats up, estimates from the X-ray data show Andromeda's central source to be surprisingly cool - only a million degrees or so compared to the tens of millions of degrees indicated for Andromeda's X-ray binaries [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap991219.html ].
Messier 110
Title Messier 110
Explanation This very sharp [ http://panther-observatory.com/gallery/deepsky/doc/ M110_cassf10.htm ] telescopic vista features the last object in the modern version of Charles Messier's catalog [ http://www.ngcic.org/dss/dss_messier.asp ] of bright clusters and nebulae - Messier 110 [ http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m110.html ]. A dwarf elliptical galaxy, M110 (aka NGC 205 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap001023.html ]) is actually a bright satellite of the large spiral galaxy Andromeda [ http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m031.html ], making M110 a fellow member of the local group [ http://www.atlasoftheuniverse.com/localgr.html ] of galaxies. Seen through a foreground of nearby stars, M110 is about 15,000 light-years across. That makes it comparable in size to satellite galaxies of our own Milky Way, the Large [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060510.html ] and Small [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050617.html ] Magellanic Clouds. Though elliptical [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060520.html ] galaxies are normally thought to be lacking in gas and dust to form new stars, M110 is known [ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query? bibcode=1998ApJ...499..209W ] to contain young stars, and faint dust clouds can easily be seen in this detailed image at about the 7 and 11 o'clock positions relative to the galaxy center.
Messier 76
Title Messier 76
Explanation Nebula at the right foot of Andromeda [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andromeda_(constellation) ] ... " begins the description for the 76th object in Charles Messier's 18th century Catalog of Nebulae and Star Clusters [ http://www.messiermarathon.com/messier's_catalogue.htm ]. In fact, M76 is [ http://www.seds.org/messier/m/m076.html ] one of the fainter objects on the Messier list and is also known by the popular name of the "Little Dumbbell Nebula". Like its brighter namesake M27 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap060803.html ] (the Dumbbell Nebula), M76 is recognized as a planetary nebula [ http://www.noao.edu/jacoby/pn_gallery.html ] - a gaseous shroud cast off by a dying sunlike star [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap050123.html ]. The nebula itself is thought to be shaped more like a donut, while its box-like appearance [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap021108.html ] is due to our nearly edge-on view. Gas expanding more rapidly away from the donut hole produces the faint loops of far flung material. The nebula's dying star can be picked out in this sharp color image [ http://www.photomeeting.de/astromeeting/ planetary/061017m76a_d.htm ] as the bottom, blue-tinted member of the double star near the center of the box-like shape. Distance estimates place M76 about 3 to 5 thousand light-years away, making the nebula over a light-year [ http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/ question19.html ] in diameter.
Nearby Spiral Galaxy NGC 494 …
Title Nearby Spiral Galaxy NGC 4945
Explanation For such a close galaxy, NGC 4945 is easy to miss. NGC 4945 [ http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/AAO/images/captions/aat101.html ] is a spiral galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980525.html ] in the Centaurus Group of galaxies, located only six times farther away than the prominent Andromeda Galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap991114.html ]. The thin disk galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap020703.html ] is oriented nearly edge-on, however, and shrouded in dark dust [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990509.html ]. Therefore galaxy-gazers searching the southern constellation of Centaurus [ http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/constellations/Centaurus.html ] need a telescope to see it. The above picture [ http://www.eso.org/outreach/press-rel/pr-1999/phot-18-99.html ] was taken with a large telescope [ http://www.ls.eso.org/lasilla/Telescopes/2p2T/E2p2M/ ] testing a new wide-angle, high-resolution CCD camera [ http://www.ls.eso.org/lasilla/Telescopes/2p2T/E2p2M/WFI/ ]. Most of the spots scattered about the frame [ http://www.eso.org/outreach/epr/posters/ ] are foreground stars in our own Galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/milky_way.html ], but some spots are globular clusters [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/globular_clusters.html ] orbiting the distant galaxy. NGC 4945 [ http://astro.ph.unimelb.edu.au/central/images/mbrown/ngc4945.html ] is thought to be quite similar to our own Milky Way Galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap971229.html ]. X-ray [ http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/science/know_l1/emspectrum.html ] observations reveal, however, that NGC 4945 has an unusual, energetic, Seyfert [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap010701.html ] 2 nucleus that might house a large black hole [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960911.html ].
NGC 6946: The Fireworks Gala …
Title NGC 6946: The Fireworks Galaxy
Explanation Why is this galaxy so active? Nearby spiral galaxy NGC 6946 [ http://www.noao.edu/outreach/aop/observers/n6946.html ] is undergoing a tremendous burst of star formation with no obvious cause. In many cases spirals light up when interacting with another galaxy, but NGC 6946 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040410.html ] appears relatively isolated in space. Located just 10 million light years [ http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question19.html ] away toward the constellation [ http://www.fillingthesky.com/id8.html ] of Cepheus [ http://www.astronomical.org/portal/modules/wfsection/article.php?articleid=20 ], this beautiful face-on spiral [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap041216.html ] spans about 20,000 light years and is seen through a field of foreground stars from our Milky Way Galaxy [ http://cassfos02.ucsd.edu/public/tutorial/MW.html ]. The center of NGC 6946 [ http://www.gemini.edu/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=116 ] is home to a nuclear starburst itself, and picturesque dark dust is seen lacing the disk along with bright blue stars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap031227.html ], red emission nebulas [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/emission_nebulae.html ], fast moving gas clouds, and unusually frequent supernovas [ http://heasarc.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/snr.html ]. The 8-meter Gemini North Telescope [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990629.html ] in Hawaii, USA [ http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/us.html ], took the above image [ http://www.gemini.edu/index.php?set_albumName=Previous-Featured-Images&id=ngc6946_Small&option=com_gallery&Itemid=39&include=view_photo.php ]. A suggested explanation [ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=2000MNRAS.319..821P ] for the high star formation rate is the recent accretion of many primordial low-mass neutral hydrogen clouds [ http://www.universetoday.com/am/publish/clouds_hydrogen_swarm_andromeda.html?422004 ] from the surrounding region.
Nearby Spiral Galaxy NGC 494 …
Title Nearby Spiral Galaxy NGC 4945
Explanation For such a close galaxy, NGC 4945 is easy to miss. NGC 4945 [ http://www.aao.gov.au/local/www/dfm/aat101.html ] is a spiral galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980525.html ] in the Centaurus Group of galaxies, located only six times farther away than the prominent Andromeda Galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap971101.html ]. The thin disk galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap981220.html ] is oriented nearly edge-on, however, and shrouded in dark dust [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980104.html ]. Therefore galaxy-gazers searching the southern constellation of Centaurus [ http://www.astro.wisc.edu/~dolan/constellations/constellations/Centaurus.html ] need a telescope to see it. The above picture [ http://www.eso.org/outreach/press-rel/pr-1999/phot-18-99.html ] was taken with a large telescope [ http://www.ls.eso.org/lasilla/Telescopes/2p2T/E2p2M/E2p2M.html ] testing a new wide-angle, high-resolution CCD camera [ http://www.ls.eso.org/lasilla/Telescopes/2p2T/E2p2M/WFI/WFI.html ]. Most of the spots scattered about the frame are foreground stars in our own Galaxy, but some spots are globular clusters [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap980719.html ] orbiting the distant galaxy. NGC 4945 [ http://astro.ph.unimelb.edu.au/central/images/mbrown/ngc4945.html ] is thought to be quite similar to our own Milky Way Galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap971229.html ]. X-ray [ http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/science/know_l1/emspectrum.html ] observations reveal, however, that NGC 4945 has an unusual, energetic, Seyfert [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap981023.html ] 2 nucleus that might house a large black hole [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960911.html ].
M32: Blue Stars in an Ellipt …
Title M32: Blue Stars in an Elliptical Galaxy
Explanation Elliptical galaxies [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap961106.html ] are known for their old, red stars. But is this old elliptical [ http://www.seds.org/messier/elli.html ] up to new tricks? In recent years, the centers of elliptical galaxies [ http://www.windows.umich.edu/cgi-bin/tour.cgi?link=/the_universe/Ellipticals.html ] have been found [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap991103.html http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=1998AJ....116.2297P ] to emit unexpectedly high amounts of blue and ultraviolet light [ http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/science/know_l1/emspectrum.html ]. Most blue light from spiral galaxies [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap990926.html ] originates from massive young hot stars [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap991103.html ap981025.html ], in contrast to the red light from the old cool stars thought to compose ellipticals. In the above recently released, false-color photograph [ http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/pr/1999/40/pr-photos.html ] by the Hubble Space Telescope [ http://www.stsci.edu/hst/ ], the center of nearby dwarf elliptical M32 has actually been resolved and does indeed show thousands of bright blue stars. The answer [ http://adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-bib_query?bibcode=1999AAS...194.0713B ] is probably that these blue stars [ http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/pr/1999/40/index.html ] are also old and glow blue, reaching relatively high temperatures by the advanced process [ http://zebu.uoregon.edu/textbook/se.html ] of fusing helium [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/htmltest/gifcity/msblues.html ], rather than hydrogen [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/lib/glossary.html#hydrogen ], in their cores. M32 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap960106.html ] appears in many pictures as the companion galaxy to the massive Andromeda Galaxy [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap971101.html ] (M31).
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