Echoes, strands
and serpents
in space
"Variable star V838 Monocerotis lies near the edge of our Milky Way Galaxy, about 20,000 light-years from the Sun. Still, ever since a sudden outburst was detected in January 2002, this enigmatic star has taken the center of an astronomical stage.
"As astronomers watch, light from the outburst echoes across pre-existing dust shells around V838 Mon, progressively illuminating ever more distant regions... Researchers have now found that V838 Mon is likely a young binary star, but the cause of its extraordinary outburst remains a mystery."
"The double helix nebula. The spots are infrared-luminous stars, mostly red giants and red supergiants. Many other stars are present in this region, but are too dim to appear even in this sensitive infrared image.
"The double helix nebula is approximately 300 light-years from the enormous black hole at the center of the Milky Way. (The Earth is more than 25,000 light-years from the black hole at the galactic center.)"
"This infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows what astronomers are referring to as a 'snake' and its surrounding stormy environment. The sinuous object is actually the core of a thick, sooty cloud large enough to swallow dozens[!] of solar systems. In fact, astronomers say the 'snake's belly' may be harboring gigantic stars in the process of forming.
"Yellow and orange dots throughout the image are enormous developing stars; the red star on the 'belly' of the snake is 20 to 50 times as massive as our sun. The blue dots are foreground stars.
"By studying the clustering and range of masses of these stellar embryos, researchers hope to determine if the stars were born in the same manner that our low-mass Sun was formed -- from a collapsing cloud of gas and dust -- or by another process in which the environment plays a larger role. The 'snake' is located about 11,000 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius, 'slithering' along the plane of our Milky Way galaxy."
"As astronomers watch, light from the outburst echoes across pre-existing dust shells around V838 Mon, progressively illuminating ever more distant regions... Researchers have now found that V838 Mon is likely a young binary star, but the cause of its extraordinary outburst remains a mystery."
"The double helix nebula. The spots are infrared-luminous stars, mostly red giants and red supergiants. Many other stars are present in this region, but are too dim to appear even in this sensitive infrared image.
"The double helix nebula is approximately 300 light-years from the enormous black hole at the center of the Milky Way. (The Earth is more than 25,000 light-years from the black hole at the galactic center.)"
"This infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows what astronomers are referring to as a 'snake' and its surrounding stormy environment. The sinuous object is actually the core of a thick, sooty cloud large enough to swallow dozens[!] of solar systems. In fact, astronomers say the 'snake's belly' may be harboring gigantic stars in the process of forming.
"Yellow and orange dots throughout the image are enormous developing stars; the red star on the 'belly' of the snake is 20 to 50 times as massive as our sun. The blue dots are foreground stars.
"By studying the clustering and range of masses of these stellar embryos, researchers hope to determine if the stars were born in the same manner that our low-mass Sun was formed -- from a collapsing cloud of gas and dust -- or by another process in which the environment plays a larger role. The 'snake' is located about 11,000 light-years away in the constellation Sagittarius, 'slithering' along the plane of our Milky Way galaxy."
Echoes, strands
and serpents
in space
mr damon, 14:05
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< 22 over 7