These elements, which include many responsible for life on Earth, are folded into the next generations of stars and planets.Ī new composite image of NGC 253 in the inset includes Chandra data (pink and white) showing that these winds blow in two opposite directions away from the center of the galaxy, to the upper right and lower left. The material that the young stars send out into intergalactic space across hundreds of light-years is enriched with elements forged in their interior. NGC 253 gives astronomers a keyhole through which to study this important phase in the stellar life cycle. Even more powerful winds are unleashed when, later in their relatively short lives, these stars explode as supernovae, and hurl waves of material out into space. Some of these young stars are massive and generate a wind by ferociously blowing gas from their surfaces. However, stars are forming in NGC 253 about two to three times more quickly than in our home galaxy. NGC 253 is a spiral galaxy, making it similar to our Milky Way. An amount of hot gas equivalent to about two million Earth masses blows away from the galaxy's center every year. This galactic wind is composed of gas with temperatures of millions of degrees that glows in X-rays. Wind can also have a big impact on the ecology and environment of a galaxy, just like on Earth, but on much larger and more dramatic scales.Ī new study using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory shows the effects of powerful winds launched from the center of a nearby galaxy, NGC 253, located 11.4 million light-years from Earth. On Earth, wind can transport particles of dust and debris across the planet, with sand from the Sahara ending up in the Caribbean or volcanic ash from Iceland being deposited in Greenland.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |