ESA and NASA cleaned off some old information from 4 retired space telescopes and combined forces to reveal brand-new images of the 4 galaxies that our closest to our own Milky Way galaxy. One thing prevails among the four new images: they have plenty of dust!
The retired observatories involved include ESAs Herschel Space Observatory (which ran from 2009 to 2013), and the Planck observatory (also 2009-2013), in addition to 2 retired NASA missions, the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS) (which ran for 10 months in 1983) and the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) (1989-1993.).
Various wavelengths of light reveal different natural phenomena, and depending on the wavelength of observations, infrared telescopes can either quickly spot clouds of dust and gas (at long infrared wavelengths) or observations at brief infrared can peer through the gas and dust to see to see stars embedded in the dust.
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The team started with unreleased images from Herschel. And while Herschel observations exposed much about the dust in our Universe, limitations in the telescopes design meant it missed as much as 30% of all the infrared light that exposes the dust on our Universe. To help complete those gaps, researchers integrated their observations with information from the 3 other retired missions, supplemented with extra data from several different radio telescopes.
” These enhanced Herschel images reveal us that the dust ecosystems in these galaxies are very dynamic,” said Christopher Clark, an astronomer at the Space Science Telescope Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, who led the work to produce the brand-new images.
Astronomers have learned that dust is produced by dying stars and is one of the materials that forms brand-new stars.
” The dust clouds observed by area telescopes are constantly formed and formed by blowing up stars, outstanding winds, and the results of gravity,” NASA and ESA explained in a news release on the images. “Almost half of all the starlight in the universe is soaked up by dust. A lot of the heavy chemical aspects necessary to forming planets like Earth are locked up in dust grains in interstellar area. Understanding dust is a crucial part of understanding our universe.
The images show the Andromeda galaxy, also referred to as M31; the Triangulum galaxy, or M33; and the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds– dwarf galaxies orbiting the Milky Way that do not have the spiral structure of the Andromeda and Triangulum galaxies. All 4 are within 3 million light-years of Earth..
The Large Magellanic Cloud, as seen by the Herschel Space Telescope, Planck, COBE and IRAS. Credit: ESA and NASA.
Where cocoons of empty space are shows regions where stars have actually just recently formed, because intense winds from the newborn stars blow away the surrounding dust and gas. The green light around the edges of those bubbles suggests the presence of cold dust that has stacked up as a result of those winds. Warmer dust, shown in blue, indicates where stars are forming or other processes have heated the dust.
The Small Magellanic Cloud is a satellite of the Milky Way, consisting of about 3 billion stars. This far-infrared and radio view of it reveals the cool (green) and warm (blue) dust, as well as the hydrogen gas (red).
The Small Magellanic Cloud is a satellite of the Milky Way, including about 3 billion stars. This far-infrared and radio view of it shows the cool (green) and warm (blue) dust, as well as the hydrogen gas (red). The image is composed of information from four retired observatories and supplemented with the Parkes, ATCA, and NANTEN radio telescopes.
The Triangulum galaxy, or M33. Credit: ESA, NASA, NASA-JPL, Caltech, Christopher Clark (STScI), E. Koch (University of Alberta), C. Druard (University of Bordeaux).
The Triangulum galaxy, or M33, is revealed here in far-infrared and radio wavelengths of light. A few of the hydrogen gas (red) that traces the edge of the Triangulums disc was pulled in from intergalactic space, and some was torn away from galaxies that merged with Triangulum far in the past. Additional information is from the Very Large Array, Green Bank Telescope, and IRAM radio telescope.
The Andromeda galaxy, or M31. CREDIT: ESA, NASA, NASA-JPL, Caltech, Christopher Clark (STScI), R. Braun (SKA Observatory), C. Nieten (MPI Radioastronomie), Matt Smith (Cardiff University).
The Andromeda galaxy, or M31, is shown here in far-infrared and radio wavelengths of light. Some of the hydrogen gas (red) that traces the edge of Andromedas disc was drawn in from intergalactic area, and some was torn away from galaxies that combined with Andromeda far in the past. In addition to the four space telescopes, additional information originated from the Green Bank Telescope, WRST, and IRAM radio telescopes.
Sources: HubbleSite, JPL.
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And while Herschel observations revealed much about the dust in our Universe, limits in the telescopes style indicated it missed out on up to 30% of all the infrared light that reveals the dust on our Universe.” The dust clouds observed by space telescopes are continuously shaped and molded by blowing up stars, excellent winds, and the impacts of gravity,” NASA and ESA discussed in a press release on the images. Many of the heavy chemical elements necessary to forming planets like Earth are locked up in dust grains in interstellar area. Where cocoons of empty area are shows regions where stars have recently formed, since intense winds from the newborn stars blow away the surrounding dust and gas. Warmer dust, revealed in blue, indicates where stars are forming or other procedures have warmed the dust.