Astronomy Picture of the Day 8-03-02

NASA ^ | 8-03-02 | Robert Nemiroff and Jerry Bonnell

[petuniasevan]

Astronomy Picture of the Day

Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.

2002 August 3

The Galactic Center - A Radio Mystery
Credit: N. E. Kassim, D. S. Briggs, T. J. W. Lazio, T. N. LaRosa, J. Imamura (NRL/RSD)

Explanation: Tuning in to the center of our Milky Way galaxy, radio astronomers explore a complex, mysterious place. A premier high resolution view, this startlingly beautiful picture covers a 4x4 degree region around the galactic center. It was constructed from 1 meter wavelength radio data obtained by telescopes of the Very Large Array near Socorro, New Mexico, USA. The galactic center itself is at the edge of the extremely bright object labeled Sagittarius (Sgr) A, suspected of harboring a million solar mass black hole. Along the galactic plane which runs diagonally through the image are tortured clouds of gas energized by hot stars and bubble-shaped supernova remnants (SNRs) - hallmarks of a violent and energetic cosmic environment. But perhaps most intriguing are the arcs, threads, and filaments which abound in the scene. Their uncertain origins challenge present theories of the dynamics of the galactic center.

[petuniasevan]

Astronomy Fun Fact:

1-meter radio is high frequency "shortwave". It's around 30 megaHertz.

Great view of the galactic hub. Seeing with "other eyes" is the only way to peer into that region.

Get on the APOD PING list!

[petuniasevan]

APOD PING!

[petuniasevan]

Right down your alley!

Corner of Jansky Street and Reber Way?

[leadpenny]

One word comes to mind: Chaos!
At the risk of not knowing enough to even ask a question here goes; are Snake and Mouse presumed threads and/or filaments also?

[lentulusgracchus]

1-meter radio is high frequency "shortwave". It's around 30 megaHertz.

Shouldn't that be 300 MHz +/- ?

Two meters is 144 MHZ, six meters is around 50 MHz, ten meters is about 28 MHz.

[petuniasevan]

You're right. Missed a zero. 2:30 AM post error.

[RightWhale]

The Milky Way. The Galaxy. Means the same thing. At the same time that some astronomers and cosmologists are making a career looking for the origin of the universe, we don't know much about our own backyard. It's going to be difficult exploring the Galaxy with our present understanding of physics since any robot platforms we send out of the galactic plane or toward the center will take so long to get into position. During that time civilizations will fall and rise, and the robots will be forgotten and will probably evaporate before they send any useful data.