X-Rays From Antennae Galaxies
Explanation:
A
bevy of
black
holes and
neutron stars
shine as bright, point-like
sources against
bubbles of
million degree gas in this
false-color x-ray image from the
orbiting
Chandra Observatory.
The striking picture shows the central regions of two
galaxies, NGC 4038 and NGC 4039, locked in a titanic collision
some 60 million light-years distant in the
constellation Corvus.
In
visible
light images, long, luminous, tendril-like structures emanating
from the wreckage lend the pair their
popular moniker,
the Antennae Galaxies.
Galactic collisions are now thought to be fairly common, but when
they happen individual stars rarely collide.
Instead gas and dust clouds merge and compress, triggering furious
bursts of massive
star
formation with thousands of resulting supernovae.
The exploding stars litter the scene with
bubbles
of shocked hot gas and
collapsed stellar cores.
Transfixed by this
cosmic accident
astronomers watch and are beginning
to
appreciate the collision-driven evolution
of galaxies, not unlike
our own.
Authors & editors:
Robert Nemiroff
(MTU) &
Jerry Bonnell
(USRA)
NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings,
and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris.
Specific
rights apply.
A service of:
LHEA at
NASA /
GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
