Latest news with #Astronomy&Astrophysics
NDTV
3 hours ago
- Science
- NDTV
Pics: Nearby Sculptor Galaxy Revealed In Ultra-Detailed Galactic Image
Washington: The Sculptor galaxy is similar in many respects to our Milky Way. It is about the same size and mass, with a similar spiral structure. But while it is impossible to get a full view of the Milky Way from the vantage point of Earth because we are inside the galaxy, Sculptor is perfectly positioned for a good look. Astronomers have done just that, releasing an ultra-detailed image of the Sculptor galaxy on Wednesday obtained with 50 hours of observations using one of the world's biggest telescopes, the European Southern Observatory's Chile-based Very Large Telescope. The image shows Sculptor, also called NGC 253, in around 4,000 different colors, each corresponding to a specific wavelength in the optical spectrum. Because various galactic components emit light differently across the spectrum, the observations are providing information at unprecedented detail on the inner workings of an entire galaxy, from star formation to the motion of interstellar gas on large scales. Conventional images in astronomy offer only a handful of colors, providing less information. The researchers used the telescope's Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer, or MUSE, instrument. "NGC 253 is close enough that we can observe it in remarkable detail with MUSE, yet far enough that we can still see the entire galaxy in a single field of view," said astronomer Enrico Congiu, a fellow at the European Southern Observatory in Santiago, and lead author of research being published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. "In the Milky Way, we can achieve extremely high resolution, but we lack a global view since we're inside it. For more distant galaxies, we can get a global view, but not the fine detail. That's why NGC 253 is such a perfect target: it acts as a bridge between the ultra-detailed studies of the Milky Way and the large-scale studies of more distant galaxies. It gives us a rare opportunity to connect the small-scale physics with the big-picture view," Congiu said. Sculptor is about 11 million light-years from Earth, making it one of the closest big galaxies to the Milky Way. A light-year is the distance light travels in a year, 5.9 trillion miles (9.5 trillion km). Like the Milky Way, it is a barred spiral galaxy, meaning it has an elongated structure extending from its nucleus, with spiral arms extending from the ends of the bar. Its diameter of about 88,000 light-years is similar to the Milky Way's, as is its total mass. One major difference is Sculptor's rate of new star formation, estimated to be two to three times greater than that of the Milky Way. Nearly 30% of this star formation is happening near the galaxy's nucleus in what is called a starburst region, as revealed in colorful emissions shown in the new image. The observations have given information on a wide range of properties such as the motion, age and chemical composition of stars and the movement of interstellar gas, an important component of any galaxy. "Since the light from stars is typically bluer if the stars are young or redder if the stars are old, having thousands of colors lets us learn a lot about what stars and populations of stars exist in the galaxy," said astronomer Kathryn Kreckel of Heidelberg University in Germany, a study co-author. "Similarly for the gas, it glows in specific bright emission lines at very specific colors, and tells us about the different elements that exist in the gas, and what is causing it to glow," Kreckel said. The initial research being published from the observations involves planetary nebulae, which are luminous clouds of gas and dust expelled by certain dying stars. Despite their name, they have nothing to do with planets. These nebulae can help astronomers measure the precise distances of faraway galaxies. The researchers marveled at the scientific and aesthetic value of the new view of Sculptor. "I personally find these images amazing," Congiu said. "What amazes me the most is that every time I look at them, I notice something new - another nebula, a splash of unexpected color or some subtle structure that hints at the incredible physics behind it all."
The Advertiser
2 days ago
- Science
- The Advertiser
Nearby Sculptor galaxy revealed in ultra-detail
The Sculptor galaxy is similar in many respects to our Milky Way. It is about the same size and mass, with a similar spiral structure. But while it is impossible to get a full view of the Milky Way from the vantage point of Earth because we are inside the galaxy, Sculptor is perfectly positioned for a good look. Astronomers have done just that, releasing an ultra-detailed image of the Sculptor galaxy on Wednesday obtained with 50 hours of observations using one of the world's biggest telescopes, the European Southern Observatory's Chile-based Very Large Telescope. The image shows Sculptor, also called NGC 253, in around 4000 different colours, each corresponding to a specific wavelength in the optical spectrum. Because various galactic components emit light differently across the spectrum, the observations are providing information at unprecedented detail on the inner workings of an entire galaxy, from star formation to the motion of interstellar gas on large scales. Conventional images in astronomy offer only a handful of colours, providing less information. The researchers used the telescope's Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer, or MUSE, instrument. "NGC 253 is close enough that we can observe it in remarkable detail with MUSE, yet far enough that we can still see the entire galaxy in a single field of view," said astronomer Enrico Congiu, a fellow at the European Southern Observatory in Santiago, and lead author of research being published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. "That's why NGC 253 is such a perfect target: it acts as a bridge between the ultra-detailed studies of the Milky Way and the large-scale studies of more distant galaxies. It gives us a rare opportunity to connect the small-scale physics with the big-picture view." Sculptor is about 11 million light-years from Earth, making it one of the closest big galaxies to the Milky Way. A light-year is the distance light travels in a year, 9.5 trillion km. Like the Milky Way, it is a barred spiral galaxy, meaning it has an elongated structure extending from its nucleus, with spiral arms extending from the ends of the bar. Its diameter of about 88,000 light-years is similar to the Milky Way's, as is its total mass. One major difference is Sculptor's rate of new star formation, estimated to be two to three times greater than that of the Milky Way. Nearly 30 per cent of this star formation is happening near the galaxy's nucleus in what is called a starburst region, as revealed in colourful emissions shown in the new image. The observations have given information on a wide range of properties such as the motion, age and chemical composition of stars and the movement of interstellar gas, an important component of any galaxy. "Since the light from stars is typically bluer if the stars are young or redder if the stars are old, having thousands of colours lets us learn a lot about what stars and populations of stars exist in the galaxy," said astronomer Kathryn Kreckel of Heidelberg University in Germany, a study co-author. "Similarly for the gas, it glows in specific bright emission lines at very specific colours, and tells us about the different elements that exist in the gas, and what is causing it to glow," Kreckel said. The initial research being published from the observations involves planetary nebulae, which are luminous clouds of gas and dust expelled by certain dying stars. Despite their name, they have nothing to do with planets. These nebulae can help astronomers measure the precise distances of faraway galaxies. The researchers marveled at the scientific and aesthetic value of the new view of Sculptor. "I personally find these images amazing," Congiu said. "What amazes me the most is that every time I look at them, I notice something new - another nebula, a splash of unexpected colour or some subtle structure that hints at the incredible physics behind it all." The Sculptor galaxy is similar in many respects to our Milky Way. It is about the same size and mass, with a similar spiral structure. But while it is impossible to get a full view of the Milky Way from the vantage point of Earth because we are inside the galaxy, Sculptor is perfectly positioned for a good look. Astronomers have done just that, releasing an ultra-detailed image of the Sculptor galaxy on Wednesday obtained with 50 hours of observations using one of the world's biggest telescopes, the European Southern Observatory's Chile-based Very Large Telescope. The image shows Sculptor, also called NGC 253, in around 4000 different colours, each corresponding to a specific wavelength in the optical spectrum. Because various galactic components emit light differently across the spectrum, the observations are providing information at unprecedented detail on the inner workings of an entire galaxy, from star formation to the motion of interstellar gas on large scales. Conventional images in astronomy offer only a handful of colours, providing less information. The researchers used the telescope's Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer, or MUSE, instrument. "NGC 253 is close enough that we can observe it in remarkable detail with MUSE, yet far enough that we can still see the entire galaxy in a single field of view," said astronomer Enrico Congiu, a fellow at the European Southern Observatory in Santiago, and lead author of research being published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. "That's why NGC 253 is such a perfect target: it acts as a bridge between the ultra-detailed studies of the Milky Way and the large-scale studies of more distant galaxies. It gives us a rare opportunity to connect the small-scale physics with the big-picture view." Sculptor is about 11 million light-years from Earth, making it one of the closest big galaxies to the Milky Way. A light-year is the distance light travels in a year, 9.5 trillion km. Like the Milky Way, it is a barred spiral galaxy, meaning it has an elongated structure extending from its nucleus, with spiral arms extending from the ends of the bar. Its diameter of about 88,000 light-years is similar to the Milky Way's, as is its total mass. One major difference is Sculptor's rate of new star formation, estimated to be two to three times greater than that of the Milky Way. Nearly 30 per cent of this star formation is happening near the galaxy's nucleus in what is called a starburst region, as revealed in colourful emissions shown in the new image. The observations have given information on a wide range of properties such as the motion, age and chemical composition of stars and the movement of interstellar gas, an important component of any galaxy. "Since the light from stars is typically bluer if the stars are young or redder if the stars are old, having thousands of colours lets us learn a lot about what stars and populations of stars exist in the galaxy," said astronomer Kathryn Kreckel of Heidelberg University in Germany, a study co-author. "Similarly for the gas, it glows in specific bright emission lines at very specific colours, and tells us about the different elements that exist in the gas, and what is causing it to glow," Kreckel said. The initial research being published from the observations involves planetary nebulae, which are luminous clouds of gas and dust expelled by certain dying stars. Despite their name, they have nothing to do with planets. These nebulae can help astronomers measure the precise distances of faraway galaxies. The researchers marveled at the scientific and aesthetic value of the new view of Sculptor. "I personally find these images amazing," Congiu said. "What amazes me the most is that every time I look at them, I notice something new - another nebula, a splash of unexpected colour or some subtle structure that hints at the incredible physics behind it all." The Sculptor galaxy is similar in many respects to our Milky Way. It is about the same size and mass, with a similar spiral structure. But while it is impossible to get a full view of the Milky Way from the vantage point of Earth because we are inside the galaxy, Sculptor is perfectly positioned for a good look. Astronomers have done just that, releasing an ultra-detailed image of the Sculptor galaxy on Wednesday obtained with 50 hours of observations using one of the world's biggest telescopes, the European Southern Observatory's Chile-based Very Large Telescope. The image shows Sculptor, also called NGC 253, in around 4000 different colours, each corresponding to a specific wavelength in the optical spectrum. Because various galactic components emit light differently across the spectrum, the observations are providing information at unprecedented detail on the inner workings of an entire galaxy, from star formation to the motion of interstellar gas on large scales. Conventional images in astronomy offer only a handful of colours, providing less information. The researchers used the telescope's Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer, or MUSE, instrument. "NGC 253 is close enough that we can observe it in remarkable detail with MUSE, yet far enough that we can still see the entire galaxy in a single field of view," said astronomer Enrico Congiu, a fellow at the European Southern Observatory in Santiago, and lead author of research being published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. "That's why NGC 253 is such a perfect target: it acts as a bridge between the ultra-detailed studies of the Milky Way and the large-scale studies of more distant galaxies. It gives us a rare opportunity to connect the small-scale physics with the big-picture view." Sculptor is about 11 million light-years from Earth, making it one of the closest big galaxies to the Milky Way. A light-year is the distance light travels in a year, 9.5 trillion km. Like the Milky Way, it is a barred spiral galaxy, meaning it has an elongated structure extending from its nucleus, with spiral arms extending from the ends of the bar. Its diameter of about 88,000 light-years is similar to the Milky Way's, as is its total mass. One major difference is Sculptor's rate of new star formation, estimated to be two to three times greater than that of the Milky Way. Nearly 30 per cent of this star formation is happening near the galaxy's nucleus in what is called a starburst region, as revealed in colourful emissions shown in the new image. The observations have given information on a wide range of properties such as the motion, age and chemical composition of stars and the movement of interstellar gas, an important component of any galaxy. "Since the light from stars is typically bluer if the stars are young or redder if the stars are old, having thousands of colours lets us learn a lot about what stars and populations of stars exist in the galaxy," said astronomer Kathryn Kreckel of Heidelberg University in Germany, a study co-author. "Similarly for the gas, it glows in specific bright emission lines at very specific colours, and tells us about the different elements that exist in the gas, and what is causing it to glow," Kreckel said. The initial research being published from the observations involves planetary nebulae, which are luminous clouds of gas and dust expelled by certain dying stars. Despite their name, they have nothing to do with planets. These nebulae can help astronomers measure the precise distances of faraway galaxies. The researchers marveled at the scientific and aesthetic value of the new view of Sculptor. "I personally find these images amazing," Congiu said. "What amazes me the most is that every time I look at them, I notice something new - another nebula, a splash of unexpected colour or some subtle structure that hints at the incredible physics behind it all." The Sculptor galaxy is similar in many respects to our Milky Way. It is about the same size and mass, with a similar spiral structure. But while it is impossible to get a full view of the Milky Way from the vantage point of Earth because we are inside the galaxy, Sculptor is perfectly positioned for a good look. Astronomers have done just that, releasing an ultra-detailed image of the Sculptor galaxy on Wednesday obtained with 50 hours of observations using one of the world's biggest telescopes, the European Southern Observatory's Chile-based Very Large Telescope. The image shows Sculptor, also called NGC 253, in around 4000 different colours, each corresponding to a specific wavelength in the optical spectrum. Because various galactic components emit light differently across the spectrum, the observations are providing information at unprecedented detail on the inner workings of an entire galaxy, from star formation to the motion of interstellar gas on large scales. Conventional images in astronomy offer only a handful of colours, providing less information. The researchers used the telescope's Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer, or MUSE, instrument. "NGC 253 is close enough that we can observe it in remarkable detail with MUSE, yet far enough that we can still see the entire galaxy in a single field of view," said astronomer Enrico Congiu, a fellow at the European Southern Observatory in Santiago, and lead author of research being published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. "That's why NGC 253 is such a perfect target: it acts as a bridge between the ultra-detailed studies of the Milky Way and the large-scale studies of more distant galaxies. It gives us a rare opportunity to connect the small-scale physics with the big-picture view." Sculptor is about 11 million light-years from Earth, making it one of the closest big galaxies to the Milky Way. A light-year is the distance light travels in a year, 9.5 trillion km. Like the Milky Way, it is a barred spiral galaxy, meaning it has an elongated structure extending from its nucleus, with spiral arms extending from the ends of the bar. Its diameter of about 88,000 light-years is similar to the Milky Way's, as is its total mass. One major difference is Sculptor's rate of new star formation, estimated to be two to three times greater than that of the Milky Way. Nearly 30 per cent of this star formation is happening near the galaxy's nucleus in what is called a starburst region, as revealed in colourful emissions shown in the new image. The observations have given information on a wide range of properties such as the motion, age and chemical composition of stars and the movement of interstellar gas, an important component of any galaxy. "Since the light from stars is typically bluer if the stars are young or redder if the stars are old, having thousands of colours lets us learn a lot about what stars and populations of stars exist in the galaxy," said astronomer Kathryn Kreckel of Heidelberg University in Germany, a study co-author. "Similarly for the gas, it glows in specific bright emission lines at very specific colours, and tells us about the different elements that exist in the gas, and what is causing it to glow," Kreckel said. The initial research being published from the observations involves planetary nebulae, which are luminous clouds of gas and dust expelled by certain dying stars. Despite their name, they have nothing to do with planets. These nebulae can help astronomers measure the precise distances of faraway galaxies. The researchers marveled at the scientific and aesthetic value of the new view of Sculptor. "I personally find these images amazing," Congiu said. "What amazes me the most is that every time I look at them, I notice something new - another nebula, a splash of unexpected colour or some subtle structure that hints at the incredible physics behind it all."
NDTV
2 days ago
- Science
- NDTV
Is Our Black Hole Defying Physics? New AI Study Challenges Theories
Astronomers, using AI and high-throughput computing from the University of Wisconsin-Madison's CHTC, have unlocked new insights into Sagittarius A* - the supermassive black hole at the heart of our galaxy. By training a neural network on millions of simulations, researchers found the black hole is spinning near its maximum speed, with its axis of rotation aimed toward Earth. The findings are based on data from the Event Horizon Telescope and offer fresh understanding of black hole behaviour. The AI also suggests that the emission near the black hole is primarily from extremely hot electrons in the accretion disk rather than a jet, and that the magnetic fields in the disk behave differently than previously thought. This research, published in Astronomy & Astrophysics, was made possible by high-throughput computing, a distributed computing method pioneered by Miron Livny, which allowed researchers to process a massive amount of data efficiently. "That we are defying the prevailing theory is, of course, exciting," says lead researcher Michael Janssen, of Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands. "However, I see our AI and machine learning approach primarily as a first step. Next, we will improve and extend the associated models and simulations." "The ability to scale up to the millions of synthetic data files required to train the model is an impressive achievement," adds Chi-kwan Chan, an Associate Astronomer of Steward Observatory at the University of Arizona and a longtime PATh collaborator. "It requires dependable workflow automation and effective workload distribution across storage resources and processing capacity." "We are pleased to see EHT leveraging our throughput computing capabilities to bring the power of AI to their science," says Professor Anthony Gitter, a Morgridge Investigator and a PATh Co-PI. "Like in the case of other science domains, CHTC's capabilities allowed EHT researchers to assemble the quantity and quality of AI-ready data needed to train effective models that facilitate scientific discovery." The NSF-funded Open Science Pool, operated by PATh, offers computing capacity contributed by more than 80 institutions across the United States. The Event Horizon black hole project performed more than 12 million computing jobs in the past three years. "A workload that consists of millions of simulations is a perfect match for our throughput-oriented capabilities that were developed and refined over four decades", says Livny, director of the CHTC and lead investigator of PATh. "We love to collaborate with researchers who have workloads that challenge the scalability of our services."
West Australian
2 days ago
- Science
- West Australian
Nearby Sculptor galaxy revealed in ultra-detail
The Sculptor galaxy is similar in many respects to our Milky Way. It is about the same size and mass, with a similar spiral structure. But while it is impossible to get a full view of the Milky Way from the vantage point of Earth because we are inside the galaxy, Sculptor is perfectly positioned for a good look. Astronomers have done just that, releasing an ultra-detailed image of the Sculptor galaxy on Wednesday obtained with 50 hours of observations using one of the world's biggest telescopes, the European Southern Observatory's Chile-based Very Large Telescope. The image shows Sculptor, also called NGC 253, in around 4000 different colours, each corresponding to a specific wavelength in the optical spectrum. Because various galactic components emit light differently across the spectrum, the observations are providing information at unprecedented detail on the inner workings of an entire galaxy, from star formation to the motion of interstellar gas on large scales. Conventional images in astronomy offer only a handful of colours, providing less information. The researchers used the telescope's Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer, or MUSE, instrument. "NGC 253 is close enough that we can observe it in remarkable detail with MUSE, yet far enough that we can still see the entire galaxy in a single field of view," said astronomer Enrico Congiu, a fellow at the European Southern Observatory in Santiago, and lead author of research being published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. "In the Milky Way, we can achieve extremely high resolution, but we lack a global view since we're inside it. For more distant galaxies, we can get a global view, but not the fine detail. "That's why NGC 253 is such a perfect target: it acts as a bridge between the ultra-detailed studies of the Milky Way and the large-scale studies of more distant galaxies. It gives us a rare opportunity to connect the small-scale physics with the big-picture view." Sculptor is about 11 million light-years from Earth, making it one of the closest big galaxies to the Milky Way. A light-year is the distance light travels in a year, 9.5 trillion km. Like the Milky Way, it is a barred spiral galaxy, meaning it has an elongated structure extending from its nucleus, with spiral arms extending from the ends of the bar. Its diameter of about 88,000 light-years is similar to the Milky Way's, as is its total mass. One major difference is Sculptor's rate of new star formation, estimated to be two to three times greater than that of the Milky Way. Nearly 30 per cent of this star formation is happening near the galaxy's nucleus in what is called a starburst region, as revealed in colourful emissions shown in the new image. The observations have given information on a wide range of properties such as the motion, age and chemical composition of stars and the movement of interstellar gas, an important component of any galaxy. "Since the light from stars is typically bluer if the stars are young or redder if the stars are old, having thousands of colours lets us learn a lot about what stars and populations of stars exist in the galaxy," said astronomer Kathryn Kreckel of Heidelberg University in Germany, a study co-author. "Similarly for the gas, it glows in specific bright emission lines at very specific colours, and tells us about the different elements that exist in the gas, and what is causing it to glow," Kreckel said. The initial research being published from the observations involves planetary nebulae, which are luminous clouds of gas and dust expelled by certain dying stars. Despite their name, they have nothing to do with planets. These nebulae can help astronomers measure the precise distances of faraway galaxies. The researchers marveled at the scientific and aesthetic value of the new view of Sculptor. "I personally find these images amazing," Congiu said. "What amazes me the most is that every time I look at them, I notice something new - another nebula, a splash of unexpected colour or some subtle structure that hints at the incredible physics behind it all."
Perth Now
2 days ago
- Science
- Perth Now
Nearby Sculptor galaxy revealed in ultra-detail
The Sculptor galaxy is similar in many respects to our Milky Way. It is about the same size and mass, with a similar spiral structure. But while it is impossible to get a full view of the Milky Way from the vantage point of Earth because we are inside the galaxy, Sculptor is perfectly positioned for a good look. Astronomers have done just that, releasing an ultra-detailed image of the Sculptor galaxy on Wednesday obtained with 50 hours of observations using one of the world's biggest telescopes, the European Southern Observatory's Chile-based Very Large Telescope. The image shows Sculptor, also called NGC 253, in around 4000 different colours, each corresponding to a specific wavelength in the optical spectrum. Because various galactic components emit light differently across the spectrum, the observations are providing information at unprecedented detail on the inner workings of an entire galaxy, from star formation to the motion of interstellar gas on large scales. Conventional images in astronomy offer only a handful of colours, providing less information. The researchers used the telescope's Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer, or MUSE, instrument. "NGC 253 is close enough that we can observe it in remarkable detail with MUSE, yet far enough that we can still see the entire galaxy in a single field of view," said astronomer Enrico Congiu, a fellow at the European Southern Observatory in Santiago, and lead author of research being published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. "In the Milky Way, we can achieve extremely high resolution, but we lack a global view since we're inside it. For more distant galaxies, we can get a global view, but not the fine detail. "That's why NGC 253 is such a perfect target: it acts as a bridge between the ultra-detailed studies of the Milky Way and the large-scale studies of more distant galaxies. It gives us a rare opportunity to connect the small-scale physics with the big-picture view." Sculptor is about 11 million light-years from Earth, making it one of the closest big galaxies to the Milky Way. A light-year is the distance light travels in a year, 9.5 trillion km. Like the Milky Way, it is a barred spiral galaxy, meaning it has an elongated structure extending from its nucleus, with spiral arms extending from the ends of the bar. Its diameter of about 88,000 light-years is similar to the Milky Way's, as is its total mass. One major difference is Sculptor's rate of new star formation, estimated to be two to three times greater than that of the Milky Way. Nearly 30 per cent of this star formation is happening near the galaxy's nucleus in what is called a starburst region, as revealed in colourful emissions shown in the new image. The observations have given information on a wide range of properties such as the motion, age and chemical composition of stars and the movement of interstellar gas, an important component of any galaxy. "Since the light from stars is typically bluer if the stars are young or redder if the stars are old, having thousands of colours lets us learn a lot about what stars and populations of stars exist in the galaxy," said astronomer Kathryn Kreckel of Heidelberg University in Germany, a study co-author. "Similarly for the gas, it glows in specific bright emission lines at very specific colours, and tells us about the different elements that exist in the gas, and what is causing it to glow," Kreckel said. The initial research being published from the observations involves planetary nebulae, which are luminous clouds of gas and dust expelled by certain dying stars. Despite their name, they have nothing to do with planets. These nebulae can help astronomers measure the precise distances of faraway galaxies. The researchers marveled at the scientific and aesthetic value of the new view of Sculptor. "I personally find these images amazing," Congiu said. "What amazes me the most is that every time I look at them, I notice something new - another nebula, a splash of unexpected colour or some subtle structure that hints at the incredible physics behind it all."
