The Sky in X-Rays 12
Today's TBTF
has interesting data and links on the state of X-ray astronomy;
ABCNews
has an overview. For five months, the orbiting Chandra observatory has been producing
great data
and
potential desktop art.
Now, by focusing on a small area of sky, Chanda has resolved what was formerly just known as "X-rayglow" into
distinct sources
(photo),
many of which even Hubble can't find in visible light. The
American Astronomical Society
will talk about this and other Chandra findings in a
live webcast today
at 2P.M. EST. For a two-year overview of our universe's secret life in invisible radiation, check out
All-Sky Monitor Movies.
And oh yeah, in visible-light news,
microlensing
provides strong evidence for stellar-size black holes being numerous.
Re:Stellar Size? (Score:1)
Oh yeah (Score:1)
Stellar Size Black Holes (Score:1)
By "stellar size" they must mean mass. By way of quick calculation (R = 2GM/c^2), we find that these black holes that are "about six times heavier than the Sun", are only 17.74 km(11 mi) in radius. For comparison, the sun has a radius of about 696,000 km(432,474 mi), and the earth 6,370 km(3,958 mi). Keep in mind these are radii. I don't know a whole lot about astronomy, particularly star sizes, but I've heard that the sun is a releativly small star.
The thing that makes me wonder, is if these are so common, what are the chances of coming accross one? It's probably about the same as coming accross an asteroid. I realize that there is a lot of space out there too. Also, the farther away we look, the farther back in time we look as well. Seeing many of these black holes would suggest that there are even more now, and our chances of finding new holes closer to home increase as time passes. I think it will be interesting to see new progress being made in this branch of science. Especially now that the HST is working again and can help out with the workload.
Wigs
Q's homeworld? (Score:2)
e0102electricbluet.jpg
Object Name: E0102-72
Object Category: Supernova Remnant
Coordinates: (J2000) Right Ascension 01h04m02s Declination -72d01m56s
Constellation: Tucana (Tuc)
Object Description: E0102-72 is a supernova remnant in the Small Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way. This galaxy is 190,000 light years from Earth. E0102 -72, which is approximately a thousand years old, is believed to have resulted from the explosion of a massive star. Stretching across forty light years of space, the multi-million degree source resembles a flaming cosmic wheel. Astronomer's Notebook: ACIS detector
PHOTO CREDIT: Chandra X-ray Image