Spitzer's Stunning Portrait of Andromeda

Universe Today. ^ | Oct 14, 2005 | Staff

[tom h]

"Spitzer's Stunning Portrait of Andromeda,"

"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows his handiwork." -- Ps 19:1

[Centurion2000]

Andromeda is moving toward our galaxy, I believe, and will some day crash right into us.

Minorities and children most affected.

[clyde asbury]

We could also look something like this:

[RightWhale]

The Milky Way has several identified arms. We live in the outskirts of one of the minor arms in a relatively dust-free hole 500 lightyears across. The arm may be seen by looking in the direction of Sagittarius on any clear, dark night--if there are any such nights anymore. The Milky Way does not appear to be a barred spiral.

[clyde asbury]

The study I remember was from several years ago, so it may very well not have been substantiated in later studies. I've forgotten what was found to suggest the arms of a barred spiral.

Either way, the Milky Way must be an impressive sight.

[RightWhale]

I remember from childhood when the Milky Way was actually visible that a lot of structure could be seen like a superhighway going off into the distance as far as you could imagine. Come to think of it, though, there was a report that the main structure is slightly barred, not as pronounced as the one in your image.

[hanamizu]

You can see the Andromeda Galaxy with the naked eye alone if you have a dark enough sky. Star hop from Mirach to the star in the opposite 'leg' to Andromeda. It will look like a fuzzy patch. Not looking right at it may reveal it easier (averted vision can see dimmer objects than direct vision.) I have read that it is the farthest thing visible to the naked eye--some 2 million light years away.

[Captain Beyond]

Awesome Pic. As always thanks for space ping list.

[clyde asbury]

The arm may be seen by looking in the direction of Sagittarius on any clear, dark night--if there are any such nights anymore.

It's relatively rural where I live. Clear summer nights without haze are pretty rare here, but Sagittarius is stunning when you can catch it. Without moonlight, M31 is clearly visible to the unaided eye. M33 is, too - well, maybe. I'm never completely sure I'm seeing it. I have an Astroscan that shows them both well. Galaxy hunting is a treat during late nights in winter.

[RightWhale]

M31 has remained easily seen even while the quality of the night sky has turned to pond scum. If you can see the Square of Pegasus, which is still easy, you can follow the stars over and up and there it is. Even when the dimmest visible star is mag 3, M31 is still there, fuzzy as ever.

[theFIRMbss]

>You can see the Andromeda Galaxy with the naked eye alone if you have a dark enough sky. Star hop from Mirach to the star in the opposite 'leg' to Andromeda. It will look like a fuzzy patch

Yes, I have seen it,
from Arizona, easy,
and Chicago, hard.

Here is a great site,
with info and pictures for
the MESSIER group:

SEDS THE MESSIER CATALOG

[clyde asbury]

Mag 3 .. that's surprising. When I'm in bright skies, I haven't checked for it since I've assumed it couldn't be seen.

I am still surprised at the dim galaxies my 10" Meade will show. 13th mag galaxies are almost always easy with it. Almost never any detail, but they're visible in multitudes.

[UnbelievingScumOnTheOtherSide]

"Andromeda is moving toward our galaxy, I believe, and will some day crash right into us."

Minorities and children most affected.

Bush's fault. (cut funding for a category 5 galactic collision deflection system)

[UnbelievingScumOnTheOtherSide]

Mag 3 .. that's surprising. When I'm in bright skies, I haven't checked for it since I've assumed it couldn't be seen.

Every galaxy has the same apparent brightness as an equivalent sized patch of the Milky Way (luminosity law). If the area is large enough, the total brighness can be quite high. But the area it is spread over makes it a problem of contrast. Andromeda is large enough that if you can see the Milky Way, you can see Andromeda.

[Drammach]

The Milky Way would be similar in appearance to Andromeda, or, M88..

[RightWhale]

Mag 3 .. that's surprising

Try it. The way the eye works if you look directly at it it disappears, but if you focus slightly to one side, there it is.

[evolved_rage]

It looks like an enormous red eye that has lost something....

[clyde asbury]

From SEDS:

"From their massive survey of stars near the heart of our Milky Way Galaxy, these astronomers [University of Wisconsin astronomers using the Spitzer Space Telescope of NASA] found evidence that the Milky Way probably has a definitive, large bar feature measuring about 27,000 light-years in length, making it look as shown in above illustration, where the position of our solar system is indicated. The survey sampled the light from an estimated 30 million stars in the Galactic plane."

"These results give evidence that the Milky Way Galaxy is probably to be classified as a barred spiral galaxy of type SBb to SBc, or SB(rs)bc."

[solitas]

who is he?

[clyde asbury]

I will. In the city, away from the immediate lights, I bet it's surprising what you can see.

[Black Tooth]

One of my favorite images of M-31.

Enjoy.

[ovrtaxt]

I remember Diogenesis' 'Gotta See This' threads- still the best newscasts I've ever seen! He always ended it with an astronomy pic to put it all in perspective.

Dio, where are you!?!?

[ovrtaxt]

Ever tried driving an Andromeda?

Yeah. It can go 183,000 miles per second, but it still takes you 25 million years to get to the corner store.

[ovrtaxt]

You can probably get some insight into that by studying the merging of two hurricanes.

[solitas]

here's a few more from APOD:

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap031222.html
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040718.html
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap021021.html
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000121.html
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap991114.html
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap971101.html

Aw hell, here's APOD - YOU find 'em all! http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html

[Bernard Marx]

Wow!

[mad_as_he$$]

You know at this rate someday we will be able to look far enough to see our own a$$es!

[mad_as_he$$]

Sorry but the Andromeda Ascendant uses worm hole / hyperspace technology not warp drive! Both invented by Rodenberry........lol

[ovrtaxt]

I'm not gonna post that pic!

[kanawa]

That is a beauty!

Btw I can relate to your tag line.
I can't think of a better time than camping far from the city on a warm summer night with the stars blazing above me and my dog at my side.
Just us and One other.

[clyde asbury]

Every galaxy has the same apparent brightness as an equivalent sized patch of the Milky Way (luminosity law).

The magnitudes given for objects can be deceiving for this reason. Two galaxies of the same magnitude can be very different in surface brightness.

With GOTO systems today, it's much less frustrating than when star-hopping was the only option.

[Alas Babylon!]

You know at this rate someday we will be able to look far enough to see our own a$$es!

No, I heard it was Uranus.

[FierceDraka]

Go see "Serenity" for some space opera entertainment.

We got the Firefly DVD set the other day. Awesome show, can't understand why Fox gave it the shaft like they did. Kind of makes me think of The Outlaw Josie Wales set in space.

I just hope it gets picked up by the SciFi Channel and put back to back with Battlestar on Friday nights.

[FierceDraka]

Here's a page where you can download videos of the simulations of the inevitable collsion between our galaxy and Andromeda:

http://www.cita.utoronto.ca/~dubinski/Gravitas/spiralmetamorphosis.html

The link pops in a new window.

[FierceDraka]

There is no way in heck that we are the only intelligent species and Earth is the only habitable planet in this universe

That's right! And that's why it is our duty, nae, our biological imperative to:
1. Crack the secrets of physics;
2. Find ways to travel to the stars;
3. Conquer as much as we can, terraforming all the way;
4. Put free men and women on so many worlds that no single catastrophe could ever wipe us out completely.
5. Look back at the UN-controlled stay-at-homes on Earth the same way we present day Americans look at our Euro-weenie cousins, and laugh our a$$es off over rounds of jinnintonix.

[FierceDraka]

We could also look something like this:

I've read about that. Barred spirals aren't supposed to be that common, either.

[FierceDraka]

Many-armed barred spiral Milky Way, comin' at ya! (Pops in new window)

[clyde asbury]

I've read about that. Barred spirals aren't supposed to be that common, either.

Yes, I was surprised to learn of the new Spitzer results. The picture I posted is NGC 1300, an extreme example of a barred spiral.

Thanks for the link.

[Maurice Tift]

Not to say they are making visits to toothless men

That's exactly right! You have to understand how these space aliens think. They spend years looking for one person that no one will believe, and then while he is stumbling in the desert in a drunken stupor - whammo - they grab him, take him to their spaceship and perform all sorts of really weird experiments on him. Then, just to make sure that no one believes him, they telepathically beam messages to his brain that say: Jim, you are the special one - tell everyone of the great space thermos!

[sandbar]

LOL!!!

[RightWhale]

We like to live on the Gulf coast, in the Yucatan, on the slopes of volcanos, on top of the Ring of Fire, at the base of the biggest, most active mountain building chain, anyplace that faces eventual natural catastrophe. Why not go out to space and live with a couple millimeters of aluminum between us and the absolute eternal vacuum or on a distant planet where the flux lines are inverted and make our brains turn inside out. Sure, that's the thing to do: go out to live floating on a methane sea on Titan and call FEMA when there is a moon tsunami.