Cosmic Bird? Triple Cosmic Collision Of Galaxies Stuns Astronomers Posted: 12 months ago by AutumnLotus
Using ESO's Very Large Telescope, an international team of astronomers has discovered a stunning rare case of a triple merger of galaxies. This system, which astronomers have dubbed 'The Bird' - albeit it also bears resemblance with a cosmic Tinker Bell - is composed of two massive spiral galaxies and a third irregular galaxy.
Comments: 1 Score: [-] 225 [+].
Space telescope unveils hidden cosmic giant Posted: 1 year ago by AutumnLotus
Astronomers from SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research have discovered a new cluster of galaxies, hidden behind a previously identified cluster of galaxies. The recently exposed cosmic giant is apparently just as bright as the first group, but is six times further away. The astronomers made the discovery as part of an international team using the space telescope XMM-Newton.
Comments: 1 Score: [-] 174 [+].
The violent lives of galaxies: Caught in the cosmic matter web Posted: 12 months ago by AutumnLotus
Astronomers are using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope to dissect one of the largest structures in the Universe as part of a quest to understand the violent lives of galaxies. Hubble is providing indirect evidence of unseen dark matter tugging on galaxies in the crowded, rough-and-tumble environment of a massive supercluster of hundreds of galaxies.
Comments: 0 Score: [-] 215 [+].
Galaxies give birth to stars on cosmic highways Posted: 11 months ago by AutumnLotus
Galaxies tend to give birth to their stars on the road, while travelling down intergalactic highways towards cosmic cities called galaxy clusters, new Spitzer Space Telescope observations reveal. Galaxies in relatively empty regions of the universe flock towards densely populated galaxy clusters, attracted there by the clusters' gravity.
Comments: 0 Score: [-] 228 [+].
VLT images triplet of dancing galaxies Posted: 12 months ago by AutumnLotus
An image based on data taken with ESO's Very Large Telescope reveals a triplet of galaxies intertwined in a cosmic dance. The three galaxies, catalogued as NGC 7173 (top), 7174 (bottom right) and 7176 (bottom left), are located 106 million light-years away towards the constellation of Piscis Austrinus (the 'Southern Fish').
Comments: 0 Score: [-] 236 [+].
Infrared galaxies didn't always prefer the 'suburbs' Posted: 1 year ago by AutumnLotus
Dusty infrared galaxies are cosmic "nurseries" for some of the universe's hottest young stars -- and new research from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope shows that when the universe was approximately six billion years old, these galaxies packed into the densest "zip codes" in space. Astronomers hope that this latest finding will give them insights into why the modern universe looks the way it does.
Comments: 1 Score: [-] 213 [+].
Watching Galaxies Grow Old Gracefully Posted: 1 year ago by AutumnLotus
In the early 1900s, Edwin Hubble made the startling discovery that our Milky Way galaxy is not alone. It is just one of many galaxies, or "island universes," as Hubble dubbed them, swimming in the sea of space. Now, a century later, NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer is helping piece together the evolution of these cosmic species.
Comments: 0 Score: [-] 123 [+].
Ultra-dense galaxies found in early universe Posted: 8 months ago by AutumnLotus
A team of astronomers looking at the universe’s distant past found nine young, unusually compact galaxies, each weighing in at 200 billion times the mass of the Sun.
These young galaxies are the equivalent of a human baby that is 20 inches long, yet weighs 180 pounds.
Comments: 0 Score: [-] 285 [+].
Probing the Cosmic Web of the Universe Posted: 11 months ago by AutumnLotus
Astronomers have used ESO’s Very Large Telescope to measure the distribution and motions of thousands of galaxies in the distant Universe. This opens fascinating perspectives to better understand what drives the acceleration of the cosmic expansion and sheds new light on the mysterious dark energy that is thought to permeate the Universe.
Comments: 0 Score: [-] 306 [+].
Cosmic 'Bullets' Traced to Galactic Black Holes Posted: 1 year ago by AutumnLotus
The most energetic particles in the universe likely come from enormous black holes nestled in the restless hearts of traumatized galaxies, scientists say. Where these cosmic "bullets" originated has been a source of much speculation, with scientists proposing everything from gamma ray bursts to decaying dark matter.
Comments: 1 Score: [-] 291 [+].
Lifestyles of the galaxies next door Posted: 1 year ago by AutumnLotus
The "lifestyles" of 75 neighboring galaxies are illuminated in this poster from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. Scientists say this fresh perspective of our cosmic neighborhood provides valuable insights into growth process of galaxies at a glance.
Comments: 0 Score: [-] 223 [+].
Old galaxies stick together in the young universe Posted: 9 months ago by AutumnLotus
UK astronomers have developed the most sensitive infrared map of the distant universe ever produced, revealing the origins of the most massive galaxies in the cosmos. Using images obtained with the United Kingdom Infra-Red Telescope (UKIRT), astronomers combined data over a period of three years. This produced a map encompassing more than 100,000 galaxies over an area of sky four times the size of the full moon.
Comments: 0 Score: [-] 267 [+].
Ghosts of galaxies Posted: 9 months ago by AutumnLotus
An international team of astronomers has identified huge star streams in the outskirts of two nearby spiral galaxies. For the first time, they have obtained a panoramic overview of an example of galactic cannibalism similar to that involving the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy in the vicinity of the Milky Way.
Comments: 0 Score: [-] 290 [+].
Astronomers observe acidic Milky Way galaxies Posted: 1 year ago by AutumnLotus
SRON astronomer Floris van der Tak is the first to have observed acidic particulate clouds outside of our own Milky Way galaxy. He did this by focusing the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope, located on Hawaii, on two nearby Milky Way galaxies. Astronomers think that acidification inhibits the formation of stars and planets in the dust clouds.
Comments: 1 Score: [-] 151 [+].
Hubble sees the graceful dance of two interacting galaxies Posted: 1 year ago by AutumnLotus
Two galaxies perform an intricate dance in this new Hubble Space Telescope image. The galaxies, containing a vast number of stars, swing past each other in a graceful performance choreographed by gravity.
Comments: 1 Score: [-] 150 [+].
Even thin galaxies pack hefty black holes Posted: 12 months ago by AutumnLotus
A half-dozen hefty black holes hide out where they are least expected, in relatively skinny galaxies. The discovery implies galaxies don't need bulging bellies to harbor monstrous black holes.
Comments: 0 Score: [-] 194 [+].
Dark energy makes galaxies keep their distance Posted: 11 months ago by deepchill
Galaxies today are struggling to clump together against the incredible repulsive power of dark energy, hints a new survey of thousands of galaxies. Measuring this anti-clumping effect puts a new arrow in the quiver of cosmologists seeking to uncover the nature of the mysterious force.
Comments: 0 Score: [-] 99 [+].
Teacher finds new cosmic object Posted: 5 months ago by AutumnLotus
A new class of cosmic object has been found by a Dutch schoolteacher, through a project which allows the public to take part in astronomy research online. Hanny Van Arkel, 25, came across the strange gaseous blob while using the Galaxy Zoo website to help classify galaxies in telescope images.
Comments: 3 Score: [-] 530 [+].
Giant ropes of dark matter found in new sky survey Posted: 11 months ago by AutumnLotus
Huge filaments of dark matter have been detected in a survey of thousands of distant galaxies. The discovery supports the idea that dark matter drove the formation of galaxies and larger cosmic structures and resolves a discrepancy in previous studies about how much dark matter the universe contains.
Comments: 0 Score: [-] 250 [+].
A Pool of Distant Galaxies – the deepest ultraviolet image of the Universe yet Posted: 2 months ago by AutumnLotus
Anyone who has wondered what it might be like to dive into a pool of millions of distant galaxies of different shapes and colours, will enjoy the latest image released by ESO. Obtained in part with the Very Large Telescope, the image is the deepest ground-based U-band image of the Universe ever obtained. It contains more than 27 million pixels and is the result of 55 hours of observations with the VIMOS instrument.
Comments: 0 Score: [-] 188 [+].
Giant galaxy cluster seen in early universe Posted: 4 months ago by AutumnLotus
Astronomers have glimpsed the largest cluster of galaxies ever seen in the distant, early universe. The discovery of this far-off group, estimated to contain as much mass as a thousand large galaxies, offers further proof of the existence of the enigmatic force called dark energy.
Comments: 1 Score: [-] 359 [+].