Andromeda 2013
·
Andromeda
In 2013
Hot stars burn brightly in this new
image from NASA's
Galaxy
Evolution Explorer, showing the
ultraviolet side of a
familiar face.
... At approximately 2.5 million light-
years
away, the Andromeda
galaxy, or M31, is our Milky Way's
largest
galactic neighbor. The
entire galaxy spans 260,000 light-
years
across -- a distance so large,
it took 11 different image
segments stitched together to
produce this view of the galaxy
next door.
The bands of blue-white making
up the galaxy's
striking rings are
neighborhoods that harbor hot,
young, massive
stars. Dark blue-
grey lanes of cooler dust show up
starkly
against these bright rings,
tracing the regions where star
formation is currently taking place
in dense cloudy cocoons.
Eventually, these dusty lanes will
be blown away by strong stellar
winds, as the forming stars ignite
nuclear fusion in their cores.
Meanwhile, the central orange-
white ball reveals a congregation
of cooler, old stars that formed
long ago.
When observed in
visible light,
Andromeda's rings look more like
spiral arms. The
ultraviolet view
shows that these arms more
closely resemble
the ring-like
structure previously observed in
infrared
wavelengths with NASA's
Spitzer Space Telescope.
Astronomers
using Spitzer
interpreted these rings as
evidence that the
galaxy was
involved in a direct collision with
its neighbor,
M32, more than 200
million years ago.
Andromeda is so bright and
close
to us that it is one of only ten
galaxies that can be
spotted from
Earth with the naked eye. This
view is two-color
composite,
where blue represents far-
ultraviolet light, and
orange is
near-ultraviole t light.
Credit: NASA/ JPL-Caltech —Lihat
Selengkapnya
Andromeda
In 2013
Hot stars burn brightly in this new
image from NASA's Galaxy
Evolution Explorer, showing the
ultraviolet side of a familiar face.
... At approximately 2.5 million light-
years away, the Andromeda
galaxy, or M31, is our Milky Way's
largest galactic neighbor. The
entire galaxy spans 260,000 light-
years across -- a distance so large,
it took 11 different image
segments stitched together to
produce this view of the galaxy
next door.
The bands of blue-white making
up the galaxy's striking rings are
neighborhoods that harbor hot,
young, massive stars. Dark blue-
grey lanes of cooler dust show up
starkly against these bright rings,
tracing the regions where star
formation is currently taking place
in dense cloudy cocoons.
Eventually, these dusty lanes will
be blown away by strong stellar
winds, as the forming stars ignite
nuclear fusion in their cores.
Meanwhile, the central orange-
white ball reveals a congregation
of cooler, old stars that formed
long ago.
When observed in visible light,
Andromeda's rings look more like
spiral arms. The ultraviolet view
shows that these arms more
closely resemble the ring-like
structure previously observed in
infrared wavelengths with NASA's
Spitzer Space Telescope.
Astronomers using Spitzer
interpreted these rings as
evidence that the galaxy was
involved in a direct collision with
its neighbor, M32, more than 200
million years ago.
Andromeda is so bright and close
to us that it is one of only ten
galaxies that can be spotted from
Earth with the naked eye. This
view is two-color composite,
where blue represents far-
ultraviolet light, and orange is
near-ultraviole t light.
Credit: NASA/ JPL-Caltech —Lihat Selengkapnya
Hot stars burn brightly in this new
image from NASA's Galaxy
Evolution Explorer, showing the
ultraviolet side of a familiar face.
... At approximately 2.5 million light-
years away, the Andromeda
galaxy, or M31, is our Milky Way's
largest galactic neighbor. The
entire galaxy spans 260,000 light-
years across -- a distance so large,
it took 11 different image
segments stitched together to
produce this view of the galaxy
next door.
The bands of blue-white making
up the galaxy's striking rings are
neighborhoods that harbor hot,
young, massive stars. Dark blue-
grey lanes of cooler dust show up
starkly against these bright rings,
tracing the regions where star
formation is currently taking place
in dense cloudy cocoons.
Eventually, these dusty lanes will
be blown away by strong stellar
winds, as the forming stars ignite
nuclear fusion in their cores.
Meanwhile, the central orange-
white ball reveals a congregation
of cooler, old stars that formed
long ago.
When observed in visible light,
Andromeda's rings look more like
spiral arms. The ultraviolet view
shows that these arms more
closely resemble the ring-like
structure previously observed in
infrared wavelengths with NASA's
Spitzer Space Telescope.
Astronomers using Spitzer
interpreted these rings as
evidence that the galaxy was
involved in a direct collision with
its neighbor, M32, more than 200
million years ago.
Andromeda is so bright and close
to us that it is one of only ten
galaxies that can be spotted from
Earth with the naked eye. This
view is two-color composite,
where blue represents far-
ultraviolet light, and orange is
near-ultraviole t light.
Credit: NASA/ JPL-Caltech —Lihat Selengkapnya
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