One of the closest galaxies to the Milky Way almost got away with theft. However, new simulations convicted the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) of stealing stars from its neighbor, the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). And the crucial evidence came from surveys looking for something entirely different – dark objects on the outskirts of the [continue reading]
An astronomical team led by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Heidelberg (MPIA) has gained new insights into a birthplace of stars. Using the ESA’s Herschel Space Telescope and evaluation techniques more commonly encountered in Hollywood film productions, the researchers produced a three-dimensional map of the dark cloud Barnard 68, a [continue reading]
October 31, 2012 The Ghost Nebula, a reflection nebula in Cepheus Image Credit & Copyright: Adam Block/Mount Lemmon SkyCenter/University of Arizona (http://www.caelumobservatory.com/index.html) With this cosmic ghost I’m wishing you all a happy and spooky Halloween! The Ghost Nebula (designated Sharpless 2-136 (Sh2-136) and vdB 141) is a rather isolated reflection nebula over 2 light-years [continue reading]
October 30, 2012 The Fireworks Galaxy, a spiral galaxy in Cepheus and Cygnus Image Credit & Copyright: Adam Block/Mount Lemmon SkyCenter/University of Arizona (http://www.caelumobservatory.com/index.html) Today it’s my birthday, so let’s have a party with fireworks!! The Fireworks Galaxy (also known as NGC 6946, Arp 29, or Caldwell 12) is an intermediate spiral galaxy of about [continue reading]
A blazar is a galaxy with an intensely bright central nucleus containing a supermassive black hole, much like a quasar. The difference is that a blazar can emit light with extremely high energy gamma rays that are sometimes over a hundred million times more energetic than the highest energy X-rays that the Chandra X-ray [continue reading]
Using a brand-new radio telescope, astronomers have produced one of the best images ever made at the lowest frequencies of giant bubbles produced by a supermassive black hole. The observations were performed at frequencies ranging from 20 to 160 MHz which are normally used for communications by airplane pilots. The picture shows what looks [continue reading]