Posted on 05/13/2012 4:39:19 AM PDT by SunkenCiv
Explanation: Many spiral galaxies have bars across their centers. Even our own Milky Way Galaxy is thought to have a modest central bar. Prominently barred spiral galaxy NGC 1672, pictured above, was captured in spectacular detail in image taken by the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope. Visible are dark filamentary dust lanes, young clusters of bright blue stars, red emission nebulas of glowing hydrogen gas, a long bright bar of stars across the center, and a bright active nucleus that likely houses a supermassive black hole. Light takes about 60 million years to reach us from NGC 1672, which spans about 75,000 light years across. NGC 1672, which appears toward the constellation of the Dolphinfish (Dorado), is being studied to find out how a spiral bar contributes to star formation in a galaxy's central regions.
(Excerpt) Read more at 129.164.179.22 ...
[Image Credit: NASA, ESA, Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) Hubble Heritage (STScI/AURA);
Acknowledgment: L. Jenkins (GSFC/U. Leicester)]
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Beauty
Spiral galaxies have bars across their centers? Don’t I know it. I go into a bar and everything starts spinning.
If the Hubble is tightly focused at galaxy center, light from the most distant edge points should come later than light from the center. But how tight is tight when the Hubble is that far away from the nearest point of its obervation?
The bright active nucleus houses a supermassive black hole?..............need some more periods here......................still trying to process.....................nope...............wait a minute...........nope..........still don’t get it............a bright black hole..........well..........guess I’ll go watch Spongebob.
Then there's
:’) That’s an interesting observation as it were — these pictures of galaxies show more recent images of the closer objects.
Just for the fun of it...
This is an awesome animation comparing the smallest to largest known or speculated “Things”
Just slowly slide the bar AT THE BOTTOM to the left or right and click on any object for a description.
Be sure to go BOTH ways on the sliding scale.
http://htwins.net/scale2/scale2.swf?bordercolor=white
Shiny and sparkling! My favorite.
Seemingly a few open lanes about a third to halfway in. ‘Wonder if anyone’s there.
:’) Thanks toL.
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