The Great Barred Spiral Galaxy in the constellation Fornax is, at 200,000 light-years across, one of the largest galaxies known to astronomers. Credit: ESO, IDA, Danish 1.5 m, R. Gendler, J-E. Ovaldsen, C. Thöne, and C. Feron
FORTIS will give clues to how galaxies grow with birth and growth cessation of new stars. Rocketeers led by Johns Hopkins astrophysicist Stephan R. McCandliss fired a 58-ft unmanned rocket from the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico more than 170 miles up for a brief but clear look at the Great Barred Spiral Galaxy. Using an onboard spectrographic telescope McCandliss team recorded UV observations of H2, the main fuel of star formation, that surrounds the galaxy.
The parabolic flight lasted about 15 min from liftoff to the time the rocket parachuted back to Eart...
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