Posted on 05/09/2023 12:56:34 PM PDT by Red Badger
Researchers using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope have discovered multiple debris rings within a previously discovered ring around the young star Fomalhaut. Photo Courtesy of NASA
May 9 (UPI) -- Researchers using NASA's James Webb Space Telescope observed multiple debris rings surrounding a young star.
The James Webb Telescope's Mid-Infrared Instrument, which is designed to capture very long wavelengths of light, found three nested belts surrounding the Fomalhaut star, out to a distance of up to 14 billion miles, NASA said Monday.
Observations by NASA's Infrared Astronomical Satellite first discovered Fomalhuat's dust ring, the first asteroid belt seen outside of our solar system in 1983 with Webb, the Hubble Space Telescope and the Atacama Large Millimeter/sub-millimeter Array capturing more detailed images of the outside of the belt.
The latest infrared imagery revealed its inner belts for the first time.
"I would describe Fomalhaut as the archetype of debris disks found elsewhere in our galaxy because it has components similar to those we have in our own planetary system" said study lead author Andras Gaspar of the University of Arizona. "By looking at the patterns in these rings, we can actually start to make a little sketch of what a planetary system ought to look like -- If we could actually take a deep enough picture to see the suspected plants."
Researchers believe the belts are partially shaped by the gravitational pull of planets that cannot yet be observed. The James Webb Space Telescope was able to observe the inner belts around the star by observing infrared light.
"I think it's not a very big leap to say there's probably a really interesting planetary system around the star," said team member Schuyler Wolff.
Rings around a star......................
The Black hole in the center of the rings is oddly shaped.
___________
In the constellation of Cygnus
There lurks a mysterious, invisible force
The Black Hole of Cygnus X-1
Six stars of the northern cross
In mourning for their sister’s loss
In a final flash of glory
Nevermore to grace the night
Invisible
To telescopic eye
Infinity
The star that would not die
All who dare
To cross her course
Are swallowed by
A fearsome force
Through the void
To be destroyed
Or is there something more?
Atomized, at the core
Or through the astral door
To soar
I set a course just east of Lyra
And northwest of Pegasus
Flew into the light of Deneb
Sailed across the Milky Way
On my ship, the ‘Rocinante’
Wheeling through the galaxies,
Headed for the heart of Cygnus
Headlong into mystery
The x-ray is her siren song
My ship cannot resist her long
Nearer to my deadly goal
Until the black hole
Gains control
Spinning, whirling
Still descending
Like a spiral sea
Unending
Sound and fury
Drowns my heart
Every nerve
Is torn apart
“You’ve tried scrubbing them out, you’ve tried soaking them out, but you still come out with...”
“James Webb Telescope unveils complex rings around young star”
update:
Right next to the mountain of Coke, “Hunter Biden WebCam unveils complex S&M rings around a young star”.
Good Times had by all
Cool photo!
That’s the star, and it’s blacked out purposely so as not to burn out the sensors of the Webb infrared detectors.............
Please point it at the moon and show us the remaining lunar lander platforms, the rover and flag. End the controversy
Webb has an electromechanical light valve shutter assembly that lets them block individual pixels, I think that's what you're seeing in that picture.
Imagine, an instrument so sensitive that light from an object 25 light-years away can send some of its pixels (more than one or two!) into nonlinear saturation.
Thanks for that picture. “Please, sir, may I have some more?”
Paging LARRY NIVEN.
Reminds me of the typical toilet bowl in Tijuana circa January 1953...
Which, having just returned stateside, was a lot nicer than I was use to...
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
