This image of NGC 1277 was taken with Hubble Space Telescope. This small, flattened galaxy contains one of the most massive central black holes ever found. At 17 billion solar masses, the black hole weighs an extraordinary 14% of the total galaxy mass. [NASA/ESA/Andrew C. Fabian] 28 November 2012 – Mcdonald Observatory news Fort Davis, …
Abell-399-401 The Planck satellite has discovered a bridge of hot gas that connects galaxy clusters Abell 399 (lower center) and Abell 401 (top left). The galaxy pair is located about a billion light-years from Earth, and the gas bridge extends approximately 10 million light-years between them. The image shows the two galaxy clusters as seen …
Planck spots hot gas bridging galaxy cluster pair Read More »
The giant planet puts on its best appearance of 2012 around December 2. By Liz Kruesi of Astronomy Magazine The largest planet in the solar system, Jupiter, reaches maximum brightness the night of December 2. On that date, its configuration puts it opposite the Sun in our sky — this is called opposition. Jupiter then …
Debris from Halley’s Comet gives birth to one of 2012’s best meteor showers. By Michael E. Bakich Prospects look good for the peak of this year’s Orionid meteor shower, which occurs the night of October 20/21. Streaking swiftly across the sky, tiny bits of rock and metal burn up as meteors. Although Earth constantly sweeps …
John Saunders, Chairmen of the Hermanus Astronomy Centre, South Africa, recently put the following question to Astronomy Magazine :- How close to each other are the stars at the heart of a globular cluster, specifically Omega Centauri and would they be too close to each other to have a planetary system? Their answer was very …
How close to each other are the stars at the heart of a globular cluster? Read More »
