Posted on 04/07/2025 12:28:38 PM PDT by MtnClimber
Explanation: How much mass do flocculent spirals hide? The featured image of flocculent spiral galaxy NGC 4414 was taken with the Hubble Space Telescope to help answer this question. Flocculent spirals -- galaxies without well-defined spiral arms -- are a quite common form of galaxy, and NGC 4414 is one of the closest. Stars and gas near the visible edge of spiral galaxies orbit the center so fast that the gravity from a large amount of unseen dark matter must be present to hold them together. Understanding the matter and dark matter distribution of NGC 4414 helps humanity calibrate the rest of the galaxy and, by deduction, flocculent spirals in general. Further, calibrating the distance to NGC 4414 helps humanity calibrate the cosmological distance scale of the entire visible universe.
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.
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Yeah, I hate it when I get flocculent on a galactic level...Never looks as good, tho...
Do people in the southern hemisphere see these rotating clockwise?
Flocculent?
Try Pepto-Bismol.................
That looks like Pepto-Bismol that ended up on the floor.
Flocculent from Uranus? (rimshot)
#4 It would explain all the gas clouds in space which later condenses into stars and planets and the cycle continues...
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