The Sculptor galaxy is similar in many respects to the 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 it, Sculptor is perfectly positioned for a good look.
Astronomers on Wednesday did just that, releasing an ultra-detailed image of the Sculptor galaxy obtained with 50 hours of observations using one of the world’s biggest telescopes, the European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescope in Chile.
The image shows Sculptor, also called NGC 253, in about 4,000 colors, each corresponding to a wavelength in the optical spectrum.
Photo: Reuters
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 (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 the research being published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.
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 kilometers.
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 percent 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.
“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,” study coauthor and Heidelberg University astronomer Kathryn Kreckel said.
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.”
Crowds in Bangladesh are flocking to snap photographs with an unlikely social media star — an albino buffalo with flowing blond hair nicknamed “Donald Trump” that is due to be sacrificed within days. Owner Zia Uddin Mridha, 38, said his brother named the 700kg bull over its flowing helmet of hair resembling the signature look of the US president. “My younger brother picked this name because of the buffalo’s extraordinary hair,” he said at his farm in Narayanganj, just outside the capital, Dhaka. Mridha said that a constant stream of curious visitors — social media fans, onlookers and children — have come throughout
It began as a satirical online project. Now millions of young people in India are flocking to it as an outlet for their frustration. A parody political party called the Cockroach Janta Party, with the insect as its symbol, has exploded across India’s social media by turning absurdist humor into protest. Memes and short videos mocking corruption, joblessness and political dysfunction have flooded social media sites, where millions of users are embracing the cockroach — known for its ability to survive harsh conditions — as a tongue-in-cheek symbol of endurance. The online movement’s rise has been unusually rapid. The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)
BIGGER ROLE: Beijing has said it maintains an impartial stance on the war in Ukraine, but by training Russian troops, China is far more involved than previously known China’s armed forces secretly trained about 200 Russian military personnel in China late last year, and some have since returned to fight in Ukraine, according to three European intelligence agencies and documents seen by Reuters. While China and Russia have held a number of joint military exercises since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Beijing has repeatedly said that it is neutral in the conflict and presents itself as a peace mediator. The covert training sessions, which predominantly focused on the use of drones, were outlined in a dual-language Russian-Chinese agreement signed by senior Russian and Chinese officers in Beijing on
HOTTER: While Indians are accustomed to summer heat, climate change has caused northwestern India to warm faster than other parts of the country, an academic said Roads and markets have emptied during afternoons and some farmers have switched to nighttime work to avoid scorching temperatures as a heat wave grips large parts of India. The India Meteorological Department forecast maximum temperatures for yesterday of about 45°C in the capital, New Delhi, where authorities have opened temporary “cooling zones” to help people cope. The weather department warned that conditions would likely persist across several northern regions in the coming days, with temperatures staying well above seasonal averages. Authorities urged people to stay indoors during the hottest hours and take precautions against heat-related illnesses. India declares a heat wave whenever maximum temperatures
RSS