The Whirlpool Galaxy – an Image in Infrared Light Taken by the Spitzer Space the Whirlpool Galaxy – an Image in X-Ray Light Taken by the Chandra X-Ray Telescope

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

The Whirlpool Galaxy – an image in infrared light taken by the Spitzer Space The Whirlpool Galaxy – an image in X-ray light taken by the Chandra X-Ray Telescope. Observatory. The Whirlpool is a spiral galaxy made up of billions of stars. As you touch the infrared image, you As you touch the X-ray image of the Whirlpool, you will not detect the beautiful spiral arms that can trace out the spiral arms that contain the brightest stars. But this infrared light is coming from give the galaxy its name. Most of the X-ray emission coincides with the core of the Whirlpool huge dust clouds between those stars, and marks the location of stellar nurseries where the next and its companion galaxy, which you can feel as circles. The X-rays are coming from heated gas generation of stars are being born. As you touch the outline of the Whirlpool you will come across that is falling into giant black holes at the centers of each galaxy. As you move around the image, a small companion galaxy at eleven o’clock. The companion contains little dust, and its infrared you can also feel pinpoints of X-ray emission. These are X-ray binary systems, where a neutron light comes from old, red stars. star or black hole is closely orbiting a normal star and feeding off the star’s atmosphere. Tactile key Tactile key Spiral arms X-ray binaries Center of galaxies Center of galaxies Companion galaxy Diffuse X-ray glow Adapted from the book Touch the Invisible Sky published by Ozone Publishing Corp. www.ozonepublishing.net.

Copy Link

Recommended publications

Central Coast Astronomy Virtual Star Party May 15Th 7Pm Pacific
Central Coast Astronomy Virtual Star Party May 15th 7pm Pacific Welcome to our Virtual Star Gazing session! We’ll be focusing on objects you can see with binoculars or a small telescope, so after our session, you can simply walk outside, look up, and understand what you’re looking at. CCAS President Aurora Lipper and astronomer Kent Wallace will bring you a virtual “tour of the night sky” where you can discover, learn, and ask questions as we go along! All you need is an internet connection. You can use an iPad, laptop, computer or cell phone. When 7pm on Saturday night rolls around, click the link on our website to join our class. CentralCoastAstronomy.org/stargaze Before our session starts: Step 1: Download your free map of the night sky: SkyMaps.com They have it available for Northern and Southern hemispheres. Step 2: Print out this document and use it to take notes during our time on Saturday. This document highlights the objects we will focus on in our session together. Celestial Objects: Moon: The moon 4 days after new, which is excellent for star gazing! *Image credit: all astrophotography images are courtesy of NASA & ESO unless otherwise noted. All planetarium images are courtesy of Stellarium. Central Coast Astronomy CentralCoastAstronomy.org Page 1 Main Focus for the Session: 1. Canes Venatici (The Hunting Dogs) 2. Boötes (the Herdsman) 3. Coma Berenices (Hair of Berenice) 4. Virgo (the Virgin) Central Coast Astronomy CentralCoastAstronomy.org Page 2 Canes Venatici (the Hunting Dogs) Canes Venatici, The Hunting Dogs, a modern constellation created by Polish astronomer Johannes Hevelius in 1687.
[Show full text]
REVIEW ARTICLE the NASA Spitzer Space Telescope
REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENTS 78, 011302 ͑2007͒ REVIEW ARTICLE The NASA Spitzer Space Telescope ͒ R. D. Gehrza Department of Astronomy, School of Physics and Astronomy, 116 Church Street, S.E., University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455 ͒ T. L. Roelligb NASA Ames Research Center, MS 245-6, Moffett Field, California 94035-1000 ͒ M. W. Wernerc Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, MS 264-767, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, California 91109 ͒ G. G. Faziod Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 ͒ J. R. Houcke Astronomy Department, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853-6801 ͒ F. J. Lowf Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, Arizona 85721 ͒ G. H. Riekeg Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, Arizona 85721 ͒ ͒ B. T. Soiferh and D. A. Levinei Spitzer Science Center, MC 220-6, California Institute of Technology, 1200 East California Boulevard, Pasadena, California 91125 ͒ E. A. Romanaj Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, MS 264-767, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, California 91109 ͑Received 2 June 2006; accepted 17 September 2006; published online 30 January 2007͒ The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Spitzer Space Telescope ͑formerly the Space Infrared Telescope Facility͒ is the fourth and ﬁnal facility in the Great Observatories Program, joining Hubble Space Telescope ͑1990͒, the Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory ͑1991–2000͒, and the Chandra X-Ray Observatory ͑1999͒. Spitzer, with a sensitivity that is almost three orders of magnitude greater than that of any previous ground-based and space-based infrared observatory, is expected to revolutionize our understanding of the creation of the universe, the formation and evolution of primitive galaxies, the origin of stars and planets, and the chemical evolution of the universe.
[Show full text]
Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer Launch Press
PRess KIT/DECEMBER 2009 Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer Launch Contents Media Services Information ................................................................................................................. 3 Quick Facts ............................................................................................................................................. 4 Mission Overview .................................................................................................................................. 5 Why Infrared? ....................................................................................................................................... 10 Science Goals and Objectives ......................................................................................................... 12 Spacecraft ............................................................................................................................................. 16 Science Instrument ............................................................................................................................. 19 Infrared Missions: Past and Present ............................................................................................... 23 NASA’s Explorer Program ................................................................................................................. 25 Program/Project Management .......................................................................................................... 27 Media Contacts J.D. Harrington
[Show full text]
Messier Objects
Messier Objects From the Stocker Astroscience Center at Florida International University Miami Florida The Messier Project Main contributors: • Daniel Puentes • Steven Revesz • Bobby Martinez Charles Messier • Gabriel Salazar • Riya Gandhi • Dr. James Webb – Director, Stocker Astroscience center • All images reduced and combined using MIRA image processing software. (Mirametrics) What are Messier Objects? • Messier objects are a list of astronomical sources compiled by Charles Messier, an 18th and early 19th century astronomer. He created a list of distracting objects to avoid while comet hunting. This list now contains over 110 objects, many of which are the most famous astronomical bodies known. The list contains planetary nebula, star clusters, and other galaxies. - Bobby Martinez The Telescope The telescope used to take these images is an Astronomical Consultants and Equipment (ACE) 24- inch (0.61-meter) Ritchey-Chretien reflecting telescope. It has a focal ratio of F6.2 and is supported on a structure independent of the building that houses it. It is equipped with a Finger Lakes 1kx1k CCD camera cooled to -30o C at the Cassegrain focus. It is equipped with dual filter wheels, the first containing UBVRI scientific filters and the second RGBL color filters. Messier 1 Found 6,500 light years away in the constellation of Taurus, the Crab Nebula (known as M1) is a supernova remnant. The original supernova that formed the crab nebula was observed by Chinese, Japanese and Arab astronomers in 1054 AD as an incredibly bright “Guest star” which was visible for over twenty-two months. The supernova that produced the Crab Nebula is thought to have been an evolved star roughly ten times more massive than the Sun.
[Show full text]
Of Galaxies, Stars, Planets and People
The Cosmic Journeys of Galaxies,A Research Programme forStars, the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium Planets and People This document was produced by the staff of the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium, in particular through discussions and contributions from the tenured astronomers, together with input from the Governors and the Management Committee. The document was edited by the Director, Michael Burton and designed by Aileen McKee. Produced in March 2017 Front Cover Images The Four Pillars of the Armagh Observatory and Planetarium Research Outreach The Armagh Observatory was founded in 1790 as The Armagh Planetarium was founded by Dr Eric part of Archbishop Richard Robinson’s vision to see Lindsay, the seventh director of the Observatory, as the creation of a University in the City of Armagh. part of his vision to communicate the excitement of It is the oldest scientific institution in Northern astronomy and science to the public. It opened on Ireland and the longest continuously operating the 1st of May, 1968 and is the oldest operating astronomical research institution in the UK and planetarium in the UK and Ireland. Ireland. History Heritage Dreyer's NGC – the New General Catalogue – was The Observatory has been measuring the weather published in 1888 by JLE Dreyer, fourth Director of conditions at 9am every day since 1794, a the Observatory. It has been used extensively by meteorological record covering more than 200 astronomers ever since. This is his annotated copy, years, believed to be longest standing in the British complete with all known corrections at the time. Isles. This image shows the sunshine recorder and Galaxies and nebulae are still often cited by their anemometer.
[Show full text]
Whirlpools and Pinwheels on the Sky
Whirlpools and pinwheels on the sky Domingos Soares Galaxies exist in many diﬀerent forms and count by, at least, the hundreds of billions, according to estimations made from the observations of the Hubble Space Telescope. Among all of them, there are no doubts that the most spectacular are the so-called \spiral galaxies". Our own galaxy, the Milky Way galaxy, is a member of that family. Spiral galaxies are so named because of the distinctive aspect they present to the observer, namely, of a spiral-shaped structure similar to a whirlpool or a pinwheel. They are also called \disk galaxies" because the galactic material | stars, gas and interstellar dust | is distributed in the shape of a \thick" disk. The stars constitute the main constituents of galaxies, at least with respect to their visual appearance. They emit the major part of the visible light of a galaxy, be it a spiral or not. The typical visual aspect of spiral galaxies is due to the structures that astronomers call \spiral arms". The most bright stars of a galaxy are those that delineate the arms. These, however, contribute little to the total mass of the galaxy, but due to their extraordinary brightness they are the most noticeable on a visual inspection. The spiral galaxy disks rotate. And this is typical in those galaxies: the galactic material spins around the disk center, which is called \galactic center". But the rotation is not like the spin of a rigid disk, like, for example, a CD, in which all the points make a full turn in the same time interval.
[Show full text]
GALAXIES WHAT ARE the DEEP SKY OBJECTS? •Deep-Sky Objects Are Astronomical Objects Other Than Individual Stars and Solar System Objects (Sun, Moon, Planets, Comets)
GALAXIES WHAT ARE THE DEEP SKY OBJECTS? •Deep-sky objects are astronomical objects other than individual stars and solar system objects (Sun, Moon, planets, comets). TYPES OF DEEP SKY OBJECTS •Nebulae •Clusters •Galaxies CHARLES MESSIER • Known for the Messier catalogue of galaxies, nebulae and star clusters M1 to M110 • He was a French astronomer who lived in the 18th century. • He was a comet hunter and the purpose of the catalogue was to record the sky objects that looked as comets but were not comets because they would not move in the sky. UNITS TO MEASURE DISTANCE • A Light-year is the distance that light travels in a year with a speed of approximately 300,000 kilometers per second • Closest star to the Sun is Proxima Centauri at 4.37 light years. • A Parsec is the equal to about 3.26 light years GALAXIES • A galaxy is an enormous collection of gas, dust and billions of stars held together by gravity. One galaxy can have hundreds of billions of stars and be as large as 200,000 light years across. • Galaxy is derived from the Greek galaxias meaning "milky", a reference to the Milky Way. • Many galaxies are believed to have black holes at their active center. The Milky Way's central black hole, known as Sagittarius A, has a mass four million times that of our Sun. GALAXIES FACTS • There are potentially more than 170 billion galaxies in the observable universe. Some, called dwarf galaxies, are very small with about 10 million stars, while others are huge containing an estimated 100 trillion stars.
[Show full text]
ASTR 2310: Chapter 6
ASTR 2310: Chapter 6 Astronomical Detection of Light The Telescope as a Camera Refraction and Reflection Telescopes Quality of Images Astronomical Instruments and Detectors Observations and Photon Counting Other Wavelengths Modern Telescopes Refracting / Reflecting Telescopes 0 Refracting Telescope: Lens focuses light onto the focal plane Focal length Reflecting Telescope: Concave Mirror focuses light onto the focal Focal length plane Almost all modern telescopes are reflecting telescopes. Secondary Optics 0 In reflecting telescopes: Secondary mirror, to re- direct light path towards back or side of incoming light path. Eyepiece: To view and enlarge the small image produced in the focal plane of the primary optics. Disadvantages of 0 Refracting Telescopes • Chromatic aberration: Different wavelengths are focused at different focal lengths (prism effect). Can be corrected, but not eliminated by second lens out of different material. • Difficult and expensive to produce: All surfaces must be perfectly shaped; glass must be flawless; lens can only be supported at the edges. The Best Location for a Telescope0 Far away from civilization – to avoid light pollution The Best Location for a Telescope (II)0 Paranal Observatory (ESO), Chile http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paranal_Observatory On high mountain-tops – to avoid atmospheric turbulence ( seeing) and other weather effects The Powers of a Telescope: 0 Size does matter! 1. Light-gathering power: Depends on the surface area A of the primary lens / D mirror, proportional to diameter squared: A = pi (D/2)2 The Powers of a Telescope (II) 0 2. Resolving power: Wave nature of light => The telescope aperture produces fringe rings that set a limit to the resolution of the telescope.
[Show full text]
UV and Infrared Astronomy
Why Put a Telescope In Space? • Access to light that does not penetrate the atmosphere • No seeing. A telescope can reach the diffraction limit: 1.22 l/D radians Astronomy in Space. I. UV Astronomy Ultraviolet Astronomy 912-3650 Å (Lyman Limit to Balmer jump) • Continuua of hot stars (spectral types O,B,A) • H I Lyman lines (1-n transitions) • Resonance lines of Li-like ions C IV, N V, O VI • H2 Lyman and Werner bands Normal incidence optics • Special UV-reflective coatings The Far Ultraviolet 912 to 1150 Å • Defined by Lyman limit, MgF cutoff at 1150 Å • LiF + Al reflects longward of 1050 Å • SiC reflects at shorter wavelengths The Astronomy Quarterly, Vol. 7, pp. 131-142, 1990 0364-9229f90 $3.00+.00 Printed in the USA. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 1990 Pergamon Press plc ASTRONOMICAL ADVANTAGES History OFAN • 9/1/1946: Lyman Spitzer EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL OBSERVATORY proposed a Space Telescope in LYMAN SPITZER, Jr. ’ a Report to project Rand This study points out, in a very preliminary way, the results that might be expected from astronomical measurements made with a satellite • 1966: Spitzer (Princeton) vehicle. The discussion is divided into three parts, corresponding to three different assumptions concerning the amount of instrumentation provided. chairs NASA Ad Hoc In the first section it is assumed that no telescope is provided; in the second a 10-&h reflector is assumed; in the third section some of the results Committee on the "Scientific obtainable with a large reflecting telescope, many feet in diameter, and revolving about the earth above the terrestrial atmosphere, are briefly Uses of the Large Space sketched.
[Show full text]
The Spitzer Space Telescope and the IR Astronomy Imaging Chain
Spitzer Space Telescope (A.K.A. The Space Infrared Telescope Facility) The Infrared Imaging Chain Fundamentals of Astronomical Imaging – Spitzer Space Telescope – 8 May 2006 1/38 The infrared imaging chain Generally similar to the optical imaging chain... 1) Source (different from optical astronomy sources) 2) Object (usually the same as the source in astronomy) 3) Collector (Spitzer Space Telescope) 4) Sensor (IR detector) 5) Processing 6) Display 7) Analysis 8) Storage ... but steps 3) and 4) are a bit more difficult! Fundamentals of Astronomical Imaging – Spitzer Space Telescope – 8 May 2006 2/38 The infrared imaging chain Longer wavelength – need a bigger telescope to get the same resolution or put up with lower resolution Fundamentals of Astronomical Imaging – Spitzer Space Telescope – 8 May 2006 3/38 Emission of IR radiation Warm objects emit lots of thermal infrared as well as reflecting it Including telescopes, people, and the Earth – so collection of IR radiation with a telescope is more complicated than an optical telescope Optical image of Spitzer Space Telescope launch: brighter regions are those which reflect more light IR image of Spitzer launch: brighter regions are those which emit more heat Infrared wavelength depends on temperature of object Fundamentals of Astronomical Imaging – Spitzer Space Telescope – 8 May 2006 4/38 Atmospheric absorption The atmosphere blocks most infrared radiation Need a telescope in space to view the IR properly Fundamentals of Astronomical Imaging – Spitzer Space Telescope – 8 May 2006 5/38
[Show full text]
Paul Hertz NASA Town Hall with Bonus Material
Paul Hertz Dominic Benford Felicia Chou Valerie Connaughton Lucien Cox Jeanne Davis Kristen Erickson Daniel Evans Michael Garcia Ellen Gertsen Shahid Habib Hashima Hasan Douglas Hudgins Patricia Knezek Elizabeth Landau William Latter Michael New Mario Perez Gregory Robinson Rita Sambruna Evan Scannapieco Kartik Sheth Eric Smith Eric Tollestrup NASA Town Hall with bonus material AAS 235th Meeting | January 5, 2020 Paul Hertz Director, Astrophysics Division Science Mission Directorate @PHertzNASA Posted at http://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/documents 1 2 Spitzer 8/25/2003 Formulation + SMEX/MO (2025), Implementation MIDEX/MO (2028), etc. Primary Ops ] Extended Ops SXG (RSA) 7/13/2019 Webb Euclid (ESA) 2021 WFIRST 2022 Mid 2020s Ariel (ESA) 2028 XMM-Newton Chandra (ESA) TESS 7/23/1999 12/10/1999 4/18/2018 NuSTAR 6/13/2012 Fermi IXPE Swift 6/11/2008 2021 11/20/2004 XRISM (JAXA) SPHEREx 2022 2023 Hubble ISS-NICER GUSTO 4/24/1990 6/3/2017 2021 SOFIA Full Ops 5/2014 + Athena (early 2030s), Revised November 24, 2019 LISA4 (early 2030s) Outline • Celebrate Accomplishments § Mission Milestones • Committed to Improving § Building an Excellent Workforce § Research and Analysis Initiatives • Program Update § Research & Analysis, Technology, Fellowships § ROSES-2020 Preview • Missions Update § Operating Missions and Senior Review § Webb, WFIRST § Other missions • Planning for the Future § FY20 Budget § Project Artemis § Supporting Astro2020 § Creating the Future 5 NASA Astrophysics Celebrate Accomplishments https://www.nasa.gov/2019 7 NASA Astrophysics
[Show full text]
Astronomy in the Park 2014 Schedule
Astronomy in the Park 2014 Schedule Members of the Stockton Astronomical Society will volunteer to setup their telescopes for the public at S.J. County Oak Grove Regional Park on the first Saturday after the New Moon. During the months of April through October the Nature Center will also be open with indoor astronomy activities. If the sky is cloudy or there is bad weather the telescopes may not be available. During the months of November through March the Nature Center will not be open. Also, if the sky is not clear the event may be canceled and we will try again the next month. • S.J. County charges a Parking Fee of $6.00 per vehicle but the Nature Center and telescope viewing is free. • SAS volunteers can contact James Rexroth for free parking passes. • Indoor astronomy themed activities for kids (both big & small) will be in the Nature Center. • Telescope viewing starts after Sunset, the Moon will be visible in the telescopes from the start. As the sky darkens more objects become visible. Darker and clearer sky is better for viewing. • Every month we will feature a different deep sky object. We will point one of our large telescopes at this object during the last hour of the evening. These objects are dim and fuzzy and are best seen in large aperture telescopes. • To view objects it may be necessary to stand on a ladder or step stool that will be next to the telescope. For more information call: James Rexroth S.J. County Oak Grove Regional Park (Nature Center) (209) 953-8814 Doug Christensen Stockton Astronomical Society (209) 462-0798
[Show full text]