Posted on 02/01/2024 1:35:16 PM PST by MtnClimber
Explanation: Barred spiral galaxy NGC 1365 is truly a majestic island universe some 200,000 light-years across. Located a mere 60 million light-years away toward the faint but heated constellation Fornax, NGC 1365 is a dominant member of the well-studied Fornax Cluster of galaxies. This sharp color image shows the intense, reddish star forming regions near the ends of the galaxy's central bar and along its spiral arms. Seen in fine detail, obscuring dust lanes cut across the galaxy's bright core. At the core lies a supermassive black hole. Astronomers think NGC 1365's prominent bar plays a crucial role in the galaxy's evolution, drawing gas and dust into a star-forming maelstrom and ultimately feeding material into the central black hole.
For more detail go to the link and click on the image for a high definition image. You can then move the magnifying glass cursor then click to zoom in and click again to zoom out. When zoomed in you can scan by moving the side bars on the bottom and right side of the image.
Wow.
A mere 60 million light-years away. You can almost reach out and touch it.
Very nice. How’s the real estate market there?
Well office vacancies are high because of Covid1365
I’d rather be there than here...
Do you know if the white area in the center is the black hole?
A black hole has a perimeter called the “event horizon” where the gravity has become so great that nothing can escape, not even light. As matter orbits a black hole, the matter gets squeezed into a smaller volume the closer the orbit becomes. The matter heats up as it gets closer and also interacts with strong magnetic fields which both cause light to be emitted. That is why the center “white area” is so bright. This is outside the event horizon. Once matter gets closer than the event horizon no more light escapes. That is the current theory. No one has ever directly seen a black hole, only how the black hole affects things around it.
(Good memories... I always got blueberry ice cream growing up!)
They should tell us which wavelength bands are used to form the image; it would help to properly understand what we’re seeing.
You might be able to do a search and find that. It does list 2 individuals under the picture. Good Luck!
Thank you for the explanation, MtnClimber. I recall at least one episode of Star Trek Next Generation (or was it a movie) involving a black hole. And that website is cool to read - I have it now bookmarked!
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