Tag Archives: Hubble Space Telescope

Hubble Spies a Loopy Galaxy

The tell-tale signs of a galactic merger

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured this striking view of spiral galaxy NGC 7714.  NGC 7714 is a spiral galaxy at 100 million light-years from Earth — a relatively close neighbor in cosmic terms. This galaxy has drifted too close to another nearby galaxy and the dramatic interaction has twisted its spiral arms out of shape, dragged streams of material out into space, and triggered bright bursts of star formation.

NGC 7714 has witnessed some violent and dramatic events in its recent past. Tell-tale signs of this brutality can be seen in the galaxy’s strangely shaped arms, and in the smoky golden haze that stretches out from the galactic center.

So what caused this disfigurement? The culprit is a smaller companion named NGC 7715, which lies just out of the frame of this image — but is visible in the wider-field DSS image, as seen below.

Wide-field image of NGC 7714 -- In this image, the bright star you can see on the left is around a billion times closer than the galaxy.
Wide-field image of NGC 7714 — In this image, the bright star you can see on the left is around a billion times closer than the galaxy.

The two galaxies drifted too close together between 100 and 200 million years ago, and began to drag at and disrupt each others structure and shape. The interacting pair formed by NGC 7714 and NGC 7715 is named Arp 284.

As a result, a ring and two long tails of stars have emerged from NGC 7714, creating a bridge between the two galaxies. This bridge acts as a pipeline, funneling material from NGC 7715 towards its larger companion and feeding bursts of star formation. Most of the star-forming activity is concentrated at the bright galactic center, although the whole galaxy is sparking new stars.

Astronomers characterize NGC 7714 as a typical Wolf-Rayet starburst galaxy. This is due to the stars within it; a large number of the new stars are of the Wolf-Rayet type — extremely hot and bright stars that begin their lives with dozens of times the mass of the Sun, but lose most of it very quickly via powerful winds.

This new picture not only reveals the intricate structure of NGC 7714, but also shows many other objects that are much further away. These background galaxies resemble faint smudges of light, some of them with spiral forms. This Hubble image is a composite of data capturing a broad range of wavelengths, revealing the correlation of the gas clouds and stars in the galaxy.

Credit: Georgia Bladon, Hubble/ESA, Garching

Physics in the News

Friday, August 29, 2014

First robot astronaut ‘lonely’ in space

via independent

Keck observatory gives astronomers first glimpse of monster galaxy formation

This image shows observations of a newly discovered galaxy core dubbed GOODS-N-774, taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field Camera 3 and Advanced Camera for Surveys. The core is marked by the box inset, overlaid on a section of the Hubble GOODS-N, or GOODS North, field (Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey). (Credit: NASA, ESA)
This image shows observations of a newly discovered galaxy core dubbed GOODS-N-774, taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope’s Wide Field Camera 3 and Advanced Camera for Surveys. The core is marked by the box inset, overlaid on a section of the Hubble GOODS-N, or GOODS North, field (Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey). (Credit: NASA, ESA)
via phys.org

We are swimming in a superhot supernova soup

The moment of detonation of a Type 1a supernova is modeled. This situation arises when a white dwarf star has accreted mass from a binary partner to a point when gravitational forces overcome the outward electron degeneracy pressure. The star collapses and it is thought that carbon fusion is initiated in the core, creating a supernova. (Credit: Argonne National Laboratory)
The moment of detonation of a Type 1a supernova is modeled. This situation arises when a white dwarf star has accreted mass from a binary partner to a point when gravitational forces overcome the outward electron degeneracy pressure. The star collapses and it is thought that carbon fusion is initiated in the core, creating a supernova. (Credit: Argonne National Laboratory)
White Dwarf No More - The Type 1a supernova proceeds in the simulation, ripping through the white dwarf star. The star is completely destroyed. Around 1-2 × 1044 Joules of energy is released from Type 1a supernovae, ejecting matter and shock waves traveling at velocities of 3-12,000 miles per second (approximately 2-7% the speed of light). (Credit: Argonne National Laboratory)
White Dwarf No More – The Type 1a supernova proceeds in the simulation, ripping through the white dwarf star. The star is completely destroyed. Around 1-2 × 1044 Joules of energy is released from Type 1a supernovae, ejecting matter and shock waves traveling at velocities of 3-12,000 miles per second (approximately 2-7% the speed of light). (Credit: Argonne National Laboratory)
Complex Fluid Mechanics - Detailed visualizations of the nuclear combustion inside a supernova. The calculations are based on fluid mechanics, showing how the explosion rips through the star. (Credit: Argonne National Laboratory)
Complex Fluid Mechanics – Detailed visualizations of the nuclear combustion inside a supernova. The calculations are based on fluid mechanics, showing how the explosion rips through the star. (Credit: Argonne National Laboratory)
via discovery

Telescopes refine distance to the ‘Seven Sisters’

New measurements have found the Pleiades open star cluster is 443 light years from Earth (Credit: NASA/ESA/AURA/Caltech/Palomar Observatory)
New measurements have found the Pleiades open star cluster is 443 light years from Earth (Credit: NASA/ESA/AURA/Caltech/Palomar Observatory)
via abc

Particle physics to aid nuclear cleanup

Los Alamos National Laboratory postdoc Elena Guardincerri, right, and undergraduate research assistant Shelby Fellows prepare a lead hemisphere inside a muon tomography machine. (Credit: Los Alamos National Laboratory)
Cosmic rays can help scientists do something no one else can: safely image the interior of the nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi plant. In the Los Alamos National Laboratory, postdoc Elena Guardincerri, right, and undergraduate research assistant, Shelby Fellows, prepare a lead hemisphere inside a muon tomography machine. (Credit: Los Alamos National Laboratory, Tuttle)
via symmetrymagazine

Dead stars ‘can reignite’ and explode

This artist's impression shows a possible mechanism for a Type Ia supernova Continue reading the main story Related Stories Dazzling supernova mystery solved Triple star system clue to gravity Dead star eats water-rich asteroid Astronomers have shown that dead stars known as white dwarfs can re-ignite and explode as supernovas. (Credit: NASA)
This artist’s impression shows a possible mechanism for a Type Ia supernova.  Astronomers have shown that dead stars known as white dwarfs can re-ignite and explode as supernovas. (Credit: NASA)
via bbc

Astronomers Witness Asteroid Smash-Up Around Sun-Like Star

llustration of data from the Spitzer Space Telescope, showing the massive increase in dust around the star NGC 2547-ID8, thought to be the result of an asteroid collision. Image (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona)
llustration of data from the Spitzer Space Telescope, showing the massive increase in dust around the star NGC 2547-ID8, thought to be the result of an asteroid collision. Image (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona)
via americaspace

A new, tunable device for spintronics

A plot showing a spin up, spin down, and the resulting spin polarized population of electrons. Inside a spin injector, the polarization is constant, while outside the injector, the polarization decays exponentially to zero as the spin up and down populations go to equilibrium. (Credit SA3.0)
A plot showing a spin up, spin down, and the resulting spin polarized population of electrons. Inside a spin injector, the polarization is constant, while outside the injector, the polarization decays exponentially to zero as the spin up and down populations go to equilibrium. (Credit SA3.0)
via phys.org