ASTRONOMY PICTURE OF THE DAYâ„¢

Chipper Q
Chipper Q
Joined: 20 Feb 05
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*bump* There are several

*bump*

There are several really good high-resolution images from the Spitzer Space Telescope, including the Large Magellanic Cloud, the Orion Nebula, the Andromeda Galaxy, the Galactic Center, the Mountains of Creation, the Carina Nubula, and one of star formation in the DR21 Region, which is particularly interesting as Spitzer found a new star that's 100,000 times more massive than the Sun. The star was hidden from optical telescopes, still veiled in dust.

Spitzer interactive images (requires JavaScript and current Adobe Flash Player)

Chipper Q
Chipper Q
Joined: 20 Feb 05
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M106 (NGC 4258) and the

M106 (NGC 4258) and the Anomalous Arms
and a link to the press release, “Mystery Spiral Arms Explained?�

A couple things pointed out in the article lead me to ask these questions:
The anomalous arms are mostly gas (as though it's been stripped?); is it possible to observe where the concentration of dark matter is for this (these?) galaxy(ies?) ?
Two sets of jets from a single object would be a trick indeed, but what about one set of jets, each, from two objects?
Is M106 possibly a merger in progress?

adrianxw
adrianxw
Joined: 21 Feb 05
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I know at the outset I am not

I know at the outset I am not going to explain this well without the help of visuals so bear with me.

I wondered if the "2 jets" syndrome could be due to a single object emittimng tenuous polar jets but as well as rotating, it has been torqued at some time and is precessing. The jets would then emit a conical structure in each direction.

Thus in 2 directions we are looking through a lot of jet interactions where the conical surface is sought of tangential to our view, but through only a little where the conical surface is more perpendicular to our view.

I envisage an emitting object being torqued by the current or past presence of another massive object in a galactic interaction.

Wave upon wave of demented avengers march cheerfully out of obscurity into the dream.

Chipper Q
Chipper Q
Joined: 20 Feb 05
Posts: 1540
Credit: 708571
RAC: 0

RE: I know at the outset I

Message 12550 in response to message 12549

Quote:

I know at the outset I am not going to explain this well without the help of visuals so bear with me.

I wondered if the "2 jets" syndrome could be due to a single object emittimng tenuous polar jets but as well as rotating, it has been torqued at some time and is precessing. The jets would then emit a conical structure in each direction.

Thus in 2 directions we are looking through a lot of jet interactions where the conical surface is sought of tangential to our view, but through only a little where the conical surface is more perpendicular to our view.

I envisage an emitting object being torqued by the current or past presence of another massive object in a galactic interaction.


If I understand you correctly, the explanation (I think similar to the one in the press release) can be categorized in a general way like this:

Possibility 1: One set of jets + interactions + perspective = anomalous arms
Possibility 2: (One set of jets per object) x (two objects) = two sets of jets
Possibility 3: ??

It seems to me that a satisfactory explanation must account for the rarity of the observation. For all the spiral-type galaxies we can see, it's possible to find many examples of all the possible perspectives (with regard to angular differences in the respective galactic planes). So for Possibility 1, wouldn't we observe at least a few more galaxies having anomalous arms?

I suppose the first possibility is the most likely, and what's required is simply more observations. :)

Chipper Q
Chipper Q
Joined: 20 Feb 05
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Credit: 708571
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Bonus: this one's a video!

Bonus: this one's a video! :)

Physicist Giovanni Fazio found tornadoes in space. Very cool!!

- - -
Wishing my neighbor to the south all the best, where ever he's crunching... :)

tullio
tullio
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RE: Bonus: this one's a

Message 12552 in response to message 12551

Quote:

Bonus: this one's a video! :)

Physicist Giovanni Fazio found tornadoes in space. Very cool!!

- - -
Wishing my neighbor to the south all the best, where ever he's crunching... :)


Ciao Giovanni, I met you in Milano when we both were younger.
Tullio

Misfit
Misfit
Joined: 11 Feb 05
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Mercury - W Cephei (to

Mercury - W Cephei (to scale)

me-[at]-rescam.org

peanut
peanut
Joined: 4 May 07
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pic of jet from ?black hole?

pic of jet from ?black hole? @ center of a galaxy

I wonder why our Milky Way does not seem to have such a jet from it's center. I recently read something that says the Milky Way either has no jet or a weak one. Do all black holes form jets?

Chipper Q
Chipper Q
Joined: 20 Feb 05
Posts: 1540
Credit: 708571
RAC: 0

RE: pic of jet from ?black

Message 12555 in response to message 12554

Quote:

pic of jet from ?black hole? @ center of a galaxy

I wonder why our Milky Way does not seem to have such a jet from it's center. I recently read something that says the Milky Way either has no jet or a weak one. Do all black holes form jets?


I think it's because there's not enough matter being drawn into it, so there's not much to spew back along the jets, but if a black hole is rotating rapidly enough then jets will be visible as matter gets drawn in -- IIRC -- also I think the matter that ends up getting swallowed acts to increase the rotation even further...

peanut
peanut
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