High Energy Andromeda
Explanation:
A mere 2.5 million
light-years away, the Andromeda Galaxy, also known
as M31, really is just next door as large galaxies go.
In this (inset) scan, image data from NASA's
Nuclear
Spectrosopic Telescope Array has yielded
the best high-energy X-ray view yet of our large neighboring spiral,
revealing some 40 extreme
sources of X-rays,
X-ray binary star systems that contain a black hole or neutron
star orbiting a more normal stellar companion.
In fact, larger Andromeda and our own Milky Way
are the most massive members of the local galaxy group.
Andromeda is close enough that NuSTAR can examine
its population of X-ray binaries in detail,
comparing them to our own.
The background image
of Andromeda was taken by NASA's Galaxy Evolution
Explorer in energetic ultraviolet light.
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.
