I just read a couple of great articles on ScienceDaily that I thought I’d share. Both are astronomical in nature, and are pretty damned neat.
The first is entitled Blushing Dusty Nebula, and talks about the image to the left,¬†a section of the Iris Nebula. It’s a fabulous clop of cosmic dust, and is lit up by a nearby star, and it appears that there’s something very special in this photograph, a section of the cloud appears to be made up of something new to us. Very cool stuff.
The second is entitled Black Hole Caught Zapping Galaxy Into Existence? and discusses an alternative theory on the relationship of black holes and galaxies. It’s quite a fascinating read, and definitely raises a few questions. This is a good summary of what they are discussing:
These observations have provided a surprising new take on the system. While no trace of stars is revealed around the black hole, its companion galaxy is extremely rich in bright and very young stars. It is forming stars at a rate equivalent to about 350 Suns per year, one hundred times more than rates for typical galaxies in the local Universe.
Earlier observations had shown that the companion galaxy is, in fact, under fire: the quasar is spewing a jet of highly energetic particles towards its companion, accompanied by a stream of fast-moving gas. The injection of matter and energy into the galaxy indicates that the quasar itself might be inducing the formation of stars and thereby creating its own host galaxy; in such a scenario, galaxies would have evolved from clouds of gas hit by the energetic jets emerging from quasars.
For all those who argue that we’re not getting bang for our buck from the activities of NASA, ESO, et al, you’re missing the point. We’re learning so much about the nature of the universe we live in.
Jim
