Double Helix Nebula a brilliant work of space art
December 16th 2008 09:17
Astronomers have reported discovering an amazing 'double helix nebula' near the centre of our galaxy, the Milky Way.
Okay, so it was about two and a half years ago, but some of us are a bit slow on the uptake and only just found out about it. Why didn't someone call? It's a 'double helix nebula' for crying out loud.
Anyway, what that means is - as you will see by the photo if you look closely enough, like you were staring at one of those 3D trick images - is a shape similar to that of a DNA strand. It's pretty remarkable.
Describing it as "unprecedented", UCLA astronomers observed part of the nebula using NASA's infrared Spitzer Space Telescope. That particular part stretched a mere 80 light years. So, yeah, it's pretty damn big.
"We see two intertwining strands wrapped around each other as in a DNA molecule," Mark Morris, a professor of physics and astronomy, told the UCLA Newsroom at the time.
"Nobody has ever seen anything like that before in the cosmic realm. Most nebulae are either spiral galaxies full of stars or formless amorphous conglomerations of dust and gas — space weather. What we see indicates a high degree of order."
The nebula is only 300 light years from the big black hole at the centre of the Milky Way, which is not much when compared to Earth's 25,000 light years away.
Morris goes on to say, "we know the galactic center has a strong magnetic field that is highly ordered and that the magnetic field lines are oriented perpendicular to the plane of the galaxy.
"If you take these magnetic field lines and twist them at their base, that sends what is called a torsional wave up the magnetic field lines.
"You can regard these magnetic field lines as akin to a taut rubber band. If you twist one end, the twist will travel up the rubber band."
So, while it's nice to think this nebula was created by a highly-advanced civillisation that has taken to creating massive works of art symbolizing 'life' out in the heavens, it's probably not the case. Oh well, it's still pretty.
To read the entire article go HERE
Okay, so it was about two and a half years ago, but some of us are a bit slow on the uptake and only just found out about it. Why didn't someone call? It's a 'double helix nebula' for crying out loud.
Anyway, what that means is - as you will see by the photo if you look closely enough, like you were staring at one of those 3D trick images - is a shape similar to that of a DNA strand. It's pretty remarkable.
Describing it as "unprecedented", UCLA astronomers observed part of the nebula using NASA's infrared Spitzer Space Telescope. That particular part stretched a mere 80 light years. So, yeah, it's pretty damn big.
"We see two intertwining strands wrapped around each other as in a DNA molecule," Mark Morris, a professor of physics and astronomy, told the UCLA Newsroom at the time.
"Nobody has ever seen anything like that before in the cosmic realm. Most nebulae are either spiral galaxies full of stars or formless amorphous conglomerations of dust and gas — space weather. What we see indicates a high degree of order."
The nebula is only 300 light years from the big black hole at the centre of the Milky Way, which is not much when compared to Earth's 25,000 light years away.
Morris goes on to say, "we know the galactic center has a strong magnetic field that is highly ordered and that the magnetic field lines are oriented perpendicular to the plane of the galaxy.
"You can regard these magnetic field lines as akin to a taut rubber band. If you twist one end, the twist will travel up the rubber band."
So, while it's nice to think this nebula was created by a highly-advanced civillisation that has taken to creating massive works of art symbolizing 'life' out in the heavens, it's probably not the case. Oh well, it's still pretty.
To read the entire article go HERE
| 29 |
| Vote |
Subscribe to this blog
