Galaxies & Cosmology
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| Creation's Glow (November 18, 2009) |
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This map of the universe shows tiny variations in temperature a few hundred thousand years after the Big Bang. These variations allowed matter to begin clumping together to form the first stars and galaxies. The map was compiled from data from COBE, a satellite launched in 1989. It measured variations in the cosmic microwave background, the faint "afterglow" of the Big Bang, which fills the universe. The differences in temperature are only a few thousandths of a degree, but are exagerrated in this map, in which the warmest temperatures are in red. [NASA] For more information, see our November 18 program. |
| Bursting with Starbirth (November 9, 2009) |
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Hyperactive stellar nurseries glow bright red in this recent Hubble Space Telescope view of the spiral galaxy M83. The nurseries are giving birth to hundreds of new stars. Some of the nurseries have already given birth to many hot, bright, blue stars, such as those in the clump at upper left. The galaxy's core is the bright knot at right, with spiral arms extending from both sides. The spiral arms contain vast clouds of dark gas and dust that collapse and fragment to give birth to new stars. [R. O'Connell (Univ. Virginia)/WFC3 Science Oversight Committee] |
| Gamma-Ray Sky (October 28, 2009) |
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This view of the universe shows the brightest sources of gamma rays, which are the most energetic form of radiation in the universe. Most of the activity is clustered along the plane of our home galaxy, the Milky Way (red band across the center). Individual objects include the Crab Nebula and a star system known as Geminga (far right edge), and a galaxy about 233 million light-years away known as NGC 1275 (at left, below the band of the Milky Way). Gamma rays are produced by some of the most powerful objects in the universe, including exploding stars and superhot disks of gas around black holes. This image was compiled by the space-based Fermi telescope. [NASA/DOE/Fermi] For more information, see our October 28 program about the gamma-ray sky. |
| Hotter Galaxy (September 23, 2009) |
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Hot stars, clouds of gas, star clusters, and disks of gas around black holes decorate the center of the Milky Way galaxy in this newly released X-ray image from Chandra X-Ray Observatory. The supermassive black hole at the galaxy's heart is in the bright cloud of material at the center of the image. The brightest X-rays, which are produced by the hottest objects, are white. Cooler objects are coded in yellow, orange, red, and blue. The center of the galaxy is about 27,000 light-years away. [NASA/CXC/U.Mass/D.Wang et al] |
| Hot Galaxy (September 18, 2009) |
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Hot young stars outline the spiral arms of M31, the Andromeda galaxy, in this ultraviolet view from the orbiting Swift observatory. The galaxy's core looks redder and smoother because it contains mainly older, cooler stars, which produce little ultraviolet light. Many of the stars in the spiral arms congregate in large clusters. This view, which was created by combining 330 individual images, spans almost 200,000 light-years. [NASA/Swift/Stefan Immler (GSFC)/Erin Grand (UMCP)] |
| Galactic Fireworks (July 4, 2009) |
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Filaments of gas and dust stream across the center of the Milky Way galaxy in this new image from the European Southern Observatory. The center of the galaxy, which contains a supermassive black hole, is at center. The wisps of material also contain denser lumps that may give birth to stars. This image was made with infrared light, which is produced by relatively cold clouds of material. The red shows warmer regions, while the blue and green show cooler regions. [European Southern Observatory] |
| Unexpected Nursery (April 27, 2009) |
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Dozens of hot, young stars surround a supermassive black hole in the core of a galaxy in this artist's concept, mingling with many more old, red stars. Recent research with a large radio telescope reveals that stars are being born near the black hole in the center of our own Milky Way galaxy. [NASA/ESA/A. Schaller (for STScI)] For more information, see our April 27 radio program. |
| A Big Shiner (April 11, 2009) |
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A lane of light-absorbing dust creates a "black eye" for M64, a spiral galaxy in the constellation Coma Berenices. The dust may come from the scattered remnants of another galaxy that rammed into M64 millions of years ago. The tiny grains of dust absorb the light of the stars behind them, blocking the view of billions of the galaxy's stars. [NASA/Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI)] For more information, see our April 11 program. |
| Galactic Turmoil (March 23, 2009) |
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Great filaments of stars and gas stream out of the center of two merging black holes in this image of the Medusa galaxies. Medusa's 'hair' streams directly above the center of the merging galaxies, shown in blue. A bright blue dot above the center of the galaxies shows a disk of superhot gas around a black hole. The image combines a visual view from Hubble Space Telescope with an X-ray image from Chandra X-Ray Observatory. The X-rays, which are produced by exceptionally hot objects, are represented in blue. The merging galaxies are about 110 million light-years away in the constellation Ursa Major, the great bear. [NASA/CXC/ESA/STScI/Univ of Iowa/P.Kaaret et al] |
| Hanny's Voorwerp (March 12, 2009) |
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What looks like a green intergalactic monster below the spiral galaxy in this picture is really a big cloud of gas and dust lit up by a jet of energy from a supermassive black hole. A Dutch teacher discovered the object while reviewing photograps as part of an international galaxy-classification project. It was named Hanny's Voorwerp ("object") in her honor, and spurred professional astronomers to research its true nature. [Dan Smith (Liverpool John Moores)/Peter Herbert (Univ. Hertfordshire)] For more information, see our March 12 program. |
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