Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2014 June 10
M51: X-Rays from the Whirlpool
Image Credit & Copyright: X-ray: NASA, CXC, R. Kilgard (Wesleyan U. et al.; Optical: NASA, STScI
Explanation: What if we X-rayed an entire spiral galaxy? This was done (again) recently by NASA's
Chandra X-ray Observatoryfor the nearby interacting galaxies known as the
Whirlpool (M51). Hundreds of glittering x-ray stars are present in the
above Chandra image of the spiral and its neighbor. The image is a conglomerate of
X-ray light from Chandra and visible light from the
Hubble Space Telescope. The number of
luminous x-ray sources, likely neutron star and black hole
binary systems within the confines of
M51, is unusually high for normal spiral or elliptical galaxies and suggests this cosmic whirlpool has experienced
intense bursts of massive star formation. The bright cores of both galaxies, NGC 5194 and NGC 5195 (right and left respectively), also exhibit high-energy activity. In
this false-color image where X-rays are depicted in purple, diffuse X-ray emission typically results from multi-million degree gas heated by
supernova explosions.
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Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (UMCP)
NASA Official: Phillip Newman Specific rights apply.
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