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First Peek at Spitzer's Legacy: Mysterious Whirlpool Galaxy

NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has captured these infrared images of the "Whirlpool Galaxy," revealing strange structures bridging the gaps between the dust-rich spiral arms, and tracing the dust, gas and stellar populations in both the bright spiral galaxy and its companion.

The Spitzer image is a four-color composite of invisible light, showing emissions from wavelengths of 3.6 microns (blue), 4.5 microns (green), 5.8 microns (orange) and 8.0 microns (red). These wavelengths are roughly 10 times longer than those seen by the human eye.

The visible light image comes from the Kitt Peak National Observatory 2.1m telescope, and has the same orientation and size as the Spitzer infrared image, measuring 9.9 by 13.7 arcminutes (north up). Also a four-color composite, the visible light image shows emissions from 0.4 to 0.7 microns, including the H-alpha nebular feature (red in the image).

The light seen in the images originates from very different sources. At shorter wavelengths (in the visible bands, and in the infrared from 3.6 to 4.5 microns), the light comes mainly from stars. This starlight fades at longer wavelengths (5.8 to 8.0 microns), where we see the glow from clouds of interstellar dust. This dust consists mainly of a variety of carbon-based organic molecules known collectively as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Wherever these compounds are found, there will also be dust granules and gas, which provide a reservoir of raw materials for future star formation.

Particularly puzzling are the large number of thin filaments of red emission seen in the infrared data between the arms of the large spiral galaxy. In contrast to the beady nature of the dust emission seen in the arms themselves, these spoke-like features are thin and regular, and prevalent in the gaps all over the face of the galaxy.

Also of interest is the contrast in the distributions of dust and stars between the spiral and its faint companion. While the spiral is rich in dust, bright in the longer infrared wavebands, and actively forming new stars, its blue companion shows little infrared emission and hosts an older stellar population. The spectacular whirlpool structure and star formation in M51 are thought to be triggered by an ongoing collision with its companion. Understanding the impact on star formation by the interaction of galaxies is one of the goals of these observations.

The targeted galaxy is known by various names: M51 from its Messier catalog designation, and also as NGC 5194. M51 was one of the original discoveries of Charles Messier, found in October 1773 while he was observing a faint comet. The Messier catalogue of galaxies is named after him. Colloquially, M51 is also known as the "Whirlpool Galaxy", or "Rosse's Galaxy," after Lord Rosse, who first detected galaxy spiral structure in his observations of M51. The companion, NGC 5195, was discovered in 1781 by Pierre Mechain.

The Whirlpool galaxy is a favorite target for amateur and professional astronomers, alike, and was the first light target for the Infrared Space Observatory. Found in the constellation Canes Venatici, M51 is 37 million light-years away.

The Spitzer observations of M51 are part of a large 500-hour science project, known as the Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxy Survey, which will comprehensively study 75 nearby galaxies with infrared imaging and spectroscopy. From these data, astronomers will probe the physical processes connecting star formation to the properties of galaxies. This information will provide a vital foundation of data, diagnostic tools, and astrophysical inputs for understanding the distant universe, ultraluminous galaxies, and the formation and evolution of galaxies.

Abell 2142:
Chandra Maps Cosmic Pressure Fronts

NASA/CXC/SAO JPEG (203 k) , Tiff (4.5 MB), PS (3.4 MB)

Chandra X-ray Observatory image of the galaxy cluster Abell 2142. The image shows a colossal cosmic "weather system" produced by the collision of two giant clusters of galaxies. For the first time, the pressure fronts in the system can be traced in detail, and they show a bright, but relatively cool 50 million degree central region (white) embedded in large elongated cloud of 70 million degree gas (magenta), all of which is roiling in a faint atmosphere of 100 million degree gas (faint magenta and dark blue). The bright source in the upper left is an active galaxy in the cluster.

Abell 2142 is six million light years across and contains hundreds of galaxies and enough gas to make a thousand more. It is one of the most massive objects in the universe. Galaxy clusters grow to vast sizes as smaller clusters are pulled inward under the influence of gravity. They collide and merge over the course of billions of years, releasing tremendous amounts of energy that heats the cluster gas. The smoothness of the elongated cloud in the Chandra image suggests that these sub-clusters have collided two or three times in a billion years or more, and have nearly completed their merger.

Fast Facts for Abell 2142                                    Credit NASA/CXC/SAO Scale  Image is 7.5 x 7.2 arcmin Category  Groups & Clusters of Galaxies Constellation  Corona Borealis Observation Date  August 20, 1999 Color Code  Thermal Instrument  ACIS Release Date  March 01, 2000

Sirius A & B:
A Double Star System In The Constellation Canis Major

NASA/SAO/CXC JPEG (140 k) , Tiff (3.1 M), PS (5.9 MB)

An X-ray image of the Sirius star system located 8.6 light years from Earth. This image shows two sources and a spike-like pattern due to the support structure for the transmission grating. The bright source is Sirius B, a white dwarf star that has a surface temperature of about 25,000 degrees Celsius which produces very low energy X-rays. The dim source at the position of Sirius A – a normal star more than twice as massive as the Sun – may be due to ultraviolet radiation from Sirius A leaking through the filter on the detector.

In contrast, Sirius A is the brightest star in the northern sky when viewed with an optical telescope, while Sirius B is 10,000 times dimmer. Because the two stars are so close together Sirius B escaped detection until 1862 when Alvan Clark discovered it while testing one of the best optical telescopes in the world at that time.

The theory of white dwarf stars was developed by S. Chandrasekhar, the namesake of the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The story of Sirius B came full cycle when it was observed by Chandra in October 1999 during the calibration or test period.

The white dwarf, Sirius B, has a mass equal to the mass of the Sun, packed into a diameter that is 90% that of the Earth. The gravity on the surface of Sirius B is 400,000 times that of Earth!

Fast Facts for Sirius A & B:                                           Credit NASA/SAO/CXC Scale  Image is 77 by 62 arcsec on a side. Category  White Dwarfs & Planetary Nebulas Coordinates (J2000)  RA 06h 45m 11s | Dec -16º 42' 05.00" Constellation  Canis Major Observation Date  October 28, 1999 Observation Time  13.9 hours Obs. ID  1421 Color Code  Intensity Instrument  HRC/LETG Distance Estimate  8.6 light years Release Date  September 26, 2000

 

The Spitzer Space Telescope (formerly SIRTF, the Space Infrared Telescope Facility) was launched into space by a Delta rocket from Cape Canaveral, Florida on 25 August 2003. During its mission, Spitzer will obtain images and spectra by detecting the infrared energy, or heat, radiated by objects in space between wavelengths of 3 and 180 microns (1 micron is one-millionth of a meter). Most of this infrared radiation is blocked by the Earth's atmosphere and cannot be observed from the ground.

Consisting of a 0.85-meter telescope and three cryogenically-cooled science instruments, Spitzer is the largest infrared telescope ever launched into space. Its highly sensitive instruments give us a unique view of the Universe and allow us to peer into regions of space which are hidden from optical telescopes. Many areas of space are filled with vast, dense clouds of gas and dust which block our view. Infrared light, however can penetrate these clouds, allowing us to peer into regions of star formation, the centers of galaxies, and into newly forming planetary systems. Infrared also brings us information about the cooler objects in space, such as smaller stars which are too dim to be detected by their visible light, extrasolar planets, and giant molecular clouds. Also, many molecules in space, including organic molecules, have their unique signatures in the infrared.

Because infrared is primarily heat radiation, the telescope must be cooled to near absolute zero (-459 degrees Fahrenheit or -273 degrees Celsius) so that it can observe infrared signals from space without interference from the telescope's own heat. Also, the telescope must be protected from the heat of the Sun and the infrared radiation put out by the Earth. To do this, Spitzer carries a solar shield and will be launched into an Earth-trailing solar orbit. This unique orbit places Spitzer far enough away from the Earth to allow the telescope to cool rapidy without having to carry large amounts of cryogen (coolant). This innovative approach has significantly reduced the cost of the mission.

Spitzer will be the final mission in NASA's Great Observatories Program - a family of four orbiting observatories, each observing the Universe in a different kind of light (visible, gamma rays, X-rays, and infrared). Other missions in this program include the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory (CGRO), and the Chandra X-Ray Observatory(CXO). Spitzer is also a part of NASA's Astronomical Search for Origins Program, designed to provide information which will help us understand our cosmic roots, and how galaxies, stars and planets develop and form.

 

آريان 5 ششمين و آخرين پرواز در سال 2007 خود را با ارسال دو ماهواره به مدار به پایان برد. 

پرتاب كننده "جي اس" واقع در پايگاه فضايي اروپا به منظور قرار دادن دو فضاپيما در مدار به پرواز درآمد. پرواز "وي 180"در ساعت 21:42 به وقت گرينويچ صورت گرفت. و دو فضاپيما 30 دقيقه بعد به درستي در مدار قرار گرفتند. دو ماهواره شامل "rascom-qaf1"اولين ماهواره ارتباطاتي آفريقا و همچنين ماهواره "هي رايزن 2" ماهواره ايي براي پوشش فناوري تلوزيوني "HDTV" در شمال آمريكا مي باشد

ستاره‌شناسان جرم تپنده ناشناخته‌ای را کشف کرده اند که به طور متناوب در محدوده پرتو X تابش می‌کند. اين جرم رفتاري شبيه تپ‌اخترها دارد

دانشمندان به مدت ۱۲ ساعت دوربین تصویربرداری فوتونی تلسکوپ XMM-Newton را به سوی جرم آسمانی RRAT J۱۸۱۹-۱۴۵۸ نشانه رفتند و ملاحظه کردند که این جرم در محدوده فرکانس‌های پرتو X می‌تپد. این تپش نشان می‌دهد که چشمه پرتوها هر ۲۶/۴ ثانیه یک بار به دور خود می‌چرخد. این جرم حدود هر ۳ ثانیه یک فوران رادیویی دارد که فقط ۳ میلی ثانیه طول می‌کشد. چنین رفتاری معرف یک جرم با تابش چرخشی ناپایدار است که RRAT خوانده می‌شود.

به عقیده دانشمندان RRATها ممکن است ستاره‌های نوترونی چرخنده باشند. ستاره‌های نوترونی بقایای درهم فشرده ستارگان مرده هستند که در قطر ۱۰ تا ۱۲ کیلومتری آنها، جرمی بیش از جرم خورشید گنجانده شده است و بنابراین، بسیار چگال هستند. بیشتر ستاره‌های نوترونی تپ اخترهای رادیویی هستند، به سرعت به دور خود می‌چرخند و تابششان مثل فانوس دریایی فضا را جاروب می‌کند، به همین دلیل تپنده به نظر می‌رسند. با این‌همه، RRATها تنها از روی فوران‌های رادیوییشان شناخته می‌شوند.

علاوه بر تابش متناوب پرتو X، RRATها خاصیت دیگری هم دارند، آنها هنگامی که پرتوهای X از سطح ستاره نوترونی تابیدند، فرکانس‌های خاصی را جذب می‌کنند. مشاهدات کنونی نمی‌توانند به درستی نشان دهند که جذب کجا اتفاق می‌افتد. جذب یا در جو گازی اطراف ستاره نوترونی رخ می‌دهد یا به وسیله ذراتی که در میدان مغناطیسی ستاره به دام افتاده‌اند انجام می‌شود که نشان می‌دهد RRATها میدان مغناطیسی قوی دارند.

از زمان اعلام کشف ۱۱ RRAT در فوریه ۲۰۰۶، دانشمندان ۱۰ RRAT دیگر شناسایی کرده اند و این نشان می‌دهد که شاید آنها جمعیت مهمی را در کهکشان ما شامل می‌شوند.

مشاهده سایر RRATها اطلاعات بیشتری در اختیار دانشمندان قرار می‌دهد. برای مشاهده RRATها دانشمندان، با استفاده از رادیوتلسکوپ‌ ها در سراسر جهان به جستجوی آنها می‌پردازند و زمان دقیق فورانشان را تعیین می‌کنند. با اندازه‌گیری دقیق زمان رسیدن فورانها، محل RRATها در آسمان با دقت بیشتری تعیین می‌شود. هنگامی که محل آنها مشخص شد، تلسکوپهای پرتو X می‌توانند به سوی آنها نشانه روند. بررسی طبیعت RRATها در پرتو X بینش ستاره‌شناسان را درباره این اجرام عجیب افزایش می‌دهد

اسطوره‌اي در سريلانكا

• پوريا ناظمي

معماي هولمز

• بابك امين‌تفرشي‌

صد شب صاف براي رصد

• گفتگو با پيتر لينده، مجيد آل‌ابراهيم‌

ديدار با سيارهِ سرخ‌

• فريبا پايروند ثابت و بابك امين‌تفرشي‌

نخستين دنياي جديد

• جولي ويك فيلد