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    Category Astronomy/Space

    Fastest Stars in the Milky Way are ‘Runaways’ from another tiny galaxy

    July 6, 2017, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    Fastest Stars in the Milky Way are '#Runaways' from another tiny galaxy

    Fastest Stars in the Milky Way are ‘Runaways’ from another tiny galaxy

     
    The fastest-moving stars in our galaxy – which are travelling so fast that they can escape the Milky Way – are in fact runaways from a much smaller galaxy in orbit around our own. The researchers, from University of Cambridge, used data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and computer simulations to demonstrate that these stellar sprinters originated in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), a dwarf galaxy in orbit around the Milky Way.
     
    These fast-moving stars, known as hypervelocity stars, were able to escape their original home when the explosion of one star in a binary system caused the other to fly off with such speed that it was able to escape the gravity of the LMC and get absorbed into the Milky Way...
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    Dazzling Spiral with an Active Heart: Barred spiral galaxy Messier 77

    July 6, 2017, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) has captured a magnificent face-on view of the barred spiral galaxy Messier 77. The image does justice to the galaxy's beauty, showcasing its glittering arms criss-crossed with dust lanes -- but it fails to betray Messier 77's turbulent nature. Credit: ESO

    ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) has captured a magnificent face-on view of the barred spiral galaxy Messier 77. The image does justice to the galaxy’s beauty, showcasing its glittering arms criss-crossed with dust lanes — but it fails to betray Messier 77’s turbulent nature.
    Credit: ESO

     
    ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT) has captured a magnificent face-on view of the barred spiral galaxy Messier 77. The image does justice to the galaxy’s beauty, showcasing its glittering arms criss-crossed with dust lanes – but it fails to betray Messier 77’s turbulent nature. This picturesque spiral galaxy appears to be tranquil, but there is more to it than meets the eye...
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    Surprise methanol detection points to evolving story of Saturn’s moon Enceladus’s plumes

    July 5, 2017, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    NASA image of Enceladus within the E-ring in orbit around Saturn, where it is possible that the methanol detection could originate further out in the E-ring. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute. Click for a larger image

    NASA image of Enceladus within the E-ring in orbit around Saturn, where it is possible that the methanol detection could originate further out in the E-ring. Credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute. Click for a larger image

     
    A serendipitous detection of the organic molecule methanol around an intriguing moon of Saturn suggests that material spewed from Enceladus undertakes a complex chemical journey once vented into space. This is the first time that a molecule from Enceladus has been detected with a ground-based telescope. Dr Emily Drabek-Maunder, of Cardiff University, will present the results on Tuesday 4th July at the National Astronomy Meeting at the University of Hull.
     
    Enceladus’s plumes are thought to originate in water escaping from a subsurface ocean t...
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    ‘Little Cub’ gives astronomers rare chance to see galaxy demise

    July 5, 2017, Categories  Astronomy/Space

    The Little Cub galaxy (circled) which is being stripped of gas by its larger neighbor. Credit: SDSS Collaboration

    The Little Cub galaxy (circled) which is being stripped of gas by its larger neighbor. Credit: SDSS Collaboration

     
    A primitive galaxy that could provide clues about the early Universe has been spotted by astronomers as it begins to be consumed by a gigantic neighbouring galaxy. The Little Cub galaxy – so called because it sits in the Ursa Major or Great Bear constellation – is being stripped of the gas needed to continue forming stars by its larger companion. The find means scientists now have a rare opportunity to observe a dwarf galaxy as its gas is removed by the effects of a nearby giant galaxy to learn more about how this process happens.
     
    As the Little Cub has remained almost pristine since its formation, scientists also hope its elements will reveal more about the che...
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