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Credit & Copyright: Gerald Cecil
(UNC/Chapel Hill) et al.,
NASA
Explanation:
Edge-on
spiral galaxy NGC 3079 is a mere 50 million light-years away
toward the constellation Ursa Major.
Shown in this stunning false-color
Hubble Space Telescope
image, the galaxy's disk - composed of spectacular
star clusters in winding spiral arms and dramatic
dark lanes of dust -
spans
some 70,000 light-years.
Still, NGC 3079's most eye-catching features
are the pillars of gas
which tower above a swirling cosmic cauldron of activity
at the galaxy's center.
Seen in the close-up inset at lower right, the pillars rise to a
height of about 2,000 light-years and seem to lie on the surface
of an immense bubble rising from the galactic core.
Measurements indicate that the gaseous pillars are streaming away
from the core at 6 million kilometers per hour.
What makes this galaxy's
cauldron bubble?
Astronomers
are exploring the
possibility that the superbubble is
formed by winds from massive stars.
If so, these massive stars were likely born all at once as the
galactic center underwent a
sudden burst of star formation.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: active galaxy - star formation - superbubble - NGC 3079
Publications with words: active galaxy - star formation - superbubble - NGC 3079
See also: