Chandra Finds Intriguing Member of Black Hole Family-Tree
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Welcome back My Dear Shoevians to The Other Shoe. I present to all of you, in this xtra-edtion of ‘Lost in Space’ for August 26th, 2015. Of course this xtra-edition is just a way for me to get my ‘Chandra’ on. Chandra being NASA’s flagship of X-ray astronomy, and the source of all the images in this xtra-edition’ for your weekend viewing pleasure! For all our new Shoevians, the Chandra space telescope is an X-Ray Telescope launched in 1999 by NASA. The images you will see here, today, are combinations of observations by; theChandra X-Ray Telescope and the Hubble Space Telescope. These two NASA wonders of modern technology and science. Quite honestly, My Dear Shoevians, this article has been ‘In the Works’ for the better part of two weeks. It all started the way many of my articles start, wandering the internet looking for something different to write!
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I had visited the NASA-Curiosity web site and found that the One Year Anniversary had just passed and their was a LOT of material I have to sift through, before I can put together areal tribute to the first year of Curiosity on Mars! So, My Dear Shoevians, look for a One Year Anniversary Edition of The Mars Report coming the first part of next week (August 31stor September 1st, 2105). Not wanting to surmount that particular journey, yet today, I shifted my focus to another of NASA’s projects I had my eye on, Chandra! Chandra is an X-Ray Telescope launched, by NASA, in 1999.
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I have seen some pretty incredible images, in the past few months, coming from the Chandra telescope. So, I headed over to the Chandra site at NASA. Much to my surprise, and my happiness, I found TONS of incredible to awe-inspiring images right at my finger tips. Soon, I became overwhelmed with the number and creative reach of these images. Rather than drown, in the imagery, I downloaded; nine of the most recent images, links for footnotes, and some detail of the images written by the good people at NASA. I put this all into a folder for… TODAY! Today, or rather tonight, it is Tuesday night August 25th, 2015 at about 11:30PM.
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I have all the images uploaded to my four different blog locations, I have all the links to reference the image origins in footnotes, and I have rather long descriptions of the images that I can use to help me write my own content, or use parts to supplement my writing with quotes from NASA. All told, I am now ‘as ready as I am going to be’ to write and publish this article of incredible images from an all NEW source! I do hope that all of you, My Dear Shoevians, enjoy these new images and our newest source for spectacular space images. If all goes well? I will be visiting the Chandra web site several times a month, and we will have another offshoot of ‘Lost in Space’ from Hubble to Chandra! Here goes my best effort at providing you,My Dearest Shoevians, with; more, better and different material, images and scientific exploration.
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Our first image of this edition of ‘Lost in Space’ is/was the image at the top of the page. However, I am going to explain that image when it comes up latter in this article. Therefore, the actual very first image of this edition will be the one right below this paragraph. This is an image of a ‘Super-Massive Black Hole” at the very center of our Milky Way Galaxy. Not everyone knows that the very center of our galaxy, the Milky Way, has a super-massive black hole! I had suspected, for many decades, that this was (in fact) the situation. That, if, our entire ‘reality’ (all of the galaxies, universes and everything) started with a black hole? Then it would stand to reason that the very center of our galaxy would be a black hole. Now, quite honestly, My Dear Shoevians, I did not anticipate that this black hole would be Super-Massive. That took me off guard.
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(Chandra Detects Record-Breaking Outburst from Milky Way’s Black Hole)
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Oh, FYI, I am writing this article on my other computer… not the laptop that I usually; write, edit, upload and publish with and on. There is nothing wrong with that computer, it is just that I am in way too much pain to use that computer, today. What you, My Dear Shoevians, see above is a combination of images. The Chandra X-Ray Telescope took the originalimage of the x-rays emitting from this supermassive black hole, that is how we find these puppies… radiation found by x-ray searching. Then, they point Hubble at the exact same point, take images, and then overlay the Hubble image over the Chandra image and WaLa! You have the incredibly revealing image that we see, above.
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This is the very center of our Milky Way Galaxy. There we find a “Super-Massive Black Hole” and it is really busy! It is busy blasting “X-Ray Flares”! I could try to put all this into my own words, but the people at NASA really do seem to have a handle on the science that I just don’t Therefore, I will share the quote (below) that was part of the description given on the page with this image. Then, My Dear Shoevians, I will catch you on the other side!
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“On September 14, 2013, astronomers caught the largest X-ray flare ever detected from the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, known as Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*). This event, which was captured by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory, was 400 times brighter than the usual X-ray output from Sgr A*, as described in our press release. The main portion of this graphic shows the area around Sgr A* in a Chandra image where low, medium, and high-energy X-rays are red, green, and blue respectively. The inset box contains an X-ray movie of the region close to Sgr A* and shows the giant flare, along with much steadier X-ray emission from a nearby magnetar, to the lower left. A magnetar is a neutron star with a strong magnetic field. A little more than a year later, astronomers saw another flare from Sgr A* that was 200 times brighter than its normal state in October 2014.”2
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Well! That really does help with the explanation of what we are all seeing. The larger image is of the entire central region of the Milky Way. Then, we see two PIPs (Pictures in Pictures)in the lower right corner. The first one, going from left to right, is the earlier image insert showing the ‘Normal’ x-ray radiation output of this super-massive black hole. Then, the secondimage (to the right of the first) show the increased output NASA scientists noticed starting in September of 2013. The whole affair is now over, and the black hole has returned to its normal output of x-ray radiation. However, this sighting has helped Sir Stephen Hawking to solidify his theory on black holes, x-ray radiation (the x-ray radiation of black holes was once named/called ‘Hawking Radiation”) at the event horizon. This was in the news just this week, too!
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NASA’s Chandra Suggests Black Holes Gorging at Excessive Rates
3(NASA’s Chandra Suggests Black Holes Gorging at Excessive Rates)
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Our next image, My Dear Shoevians, (above) is evidence of another super-massive black hole that is gorging on space materials at excessive rates! Chandra has studied dozens of these super-massive black holes and have found that quasars are, frequently, found at the center of these areas. That quasars and super-massive black holes form in/around each other. However, as I mentioned the three quasars and super-massive black holes in this image are consuming matter at “excessive rates”! Here, let me (again) quote the scientists at NASA for a better and clearer understanding of the science.
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“Astronomers have studied 51 quasars with NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and found they may represent an unusual population of black holes that consume excessive amounts of matter, as described in our latest press release. Quasars are objects that have supermassive black holes that also shine very brightly in different types of light. By examining the X-ray properties with Chandra, and combining them with data from ultraviolet and visible light observations, scientists are trying to determine exactly how these large black holes grow so quickly in the early Universe.
The quasars in this study – including the three shown as Chandra images in the bottom of the graphic – are located between about 5 billion and 11.5 billion light years from Earth. These quasars were selected because they had unusually weak emission from certain atoms, especially carbon, at ultraviolet wavelengths. Also, about 65% of the quasars in this new study were found to be much fainter in X-rays, by about 40 times on average, than typical quasars.
The weak ultraviolet atomic emission and X-ray fluxes from these objects could be an important clue to the question of how a supermassive black hole pulls in matter. Computer simulations show that, at low inflow rates, matter swirls toward the black hole in a thin disk. However, if the rate of inflow is high, the disk can puff up dramatically into a torus or donut that surrounds the inner part of the disk.”4
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Next, is an artist representation of the excessive rates of matter gorging taking place in and around these super-massive black holes and their neighboring quasars. Again, this is not an image taken by either Chandra or the Hubble space telescopes. The top ornage image is the artist representation, and below is actual images taken by the Chandra x-ray telescope. You can clearly see, in the upper image, just how much and how vast the reach and amount of matter these super-massive black holes are pulling into themselves! I simply cannot image being in the space near or around these super-massive black holes. They are completely capable of sucking down the entirely of our solar system in a matter of… … weeks, months, years! Here is the next image, I will catch all of you on the other side!
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Artist Representation of Super-Massive Black Holes Gorging
(Artist Representation of Super-Massive Black Holes Gorging)
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Now, My Dear Shoevians, there are not a whole lot of places you can go to see this kind of imaging with all the science explained nice and neat, eh? Oh, bye-the-bye if you are viewing this article at the Blog dot Com web site? Just what do you think of these images with the new theme? Don’t these images just jump off the page?!?! I previewed this new theme a lot,before picking this one, and I really thought that it as just perfect for all my; ‘Lost in Space’ , ‘The Mars Report’ and all the wonderful and incredible articles I write and share that have dozens of images, like these! I hope that you, My Dear Shoevians, really appreciate the change and how the images look with the new theme! Here is a quote, from NASA Scientists, about the image above:
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“A new Chandra study indicates the existence of a population of black holes that is consuming extremely large amounts of material.
- Thick, donut-shaped disks may be surrounding the black holes, blocking much of the light that would otherwise be emitted.
The black holes in these quasars may be growing at an extraordinarily rapid rate.”5
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I mean, that is great and all, but really I included this image because I was just taken aback by the orange image and how they have represented the gorging of these quasars and black holes so accurately! Really. Isn’t that image with all the orange just awesome? Now, on to our next image for today. WOW! It is only page 8, and I am already 1/3 the way through writing this article! At this rate I should be publishing this article at about 3AM! That is not really bad for a article of this size and scope! I just hope that nobody needs to call and talk to me, tomorrow, until about noon! 🙂
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(NGC 5813: Chandra Finds Evidence for Serial Black Hole Eruptions)
6(NGC 5813: Chandra Finds Evidence for Serial Black Hole Eruptions)
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Awww… purple!!!! The image, above, is of the group of galaxies names NGC-5813. This group of galaxies have been the focus of immense study and have brought scientists to the conclusion that this super-massive black hole has been responsible for repeated (or Serial) eruptions, over the past 50 million years, and that his has permanently rearranged the galaxy around. It is science, and discoveries, like these that make me a very grateful human being living in a quite docile solar system in a very docile galaxy, the Milky Way. No galaxies colliding with other galaxies. No super-massive black holes erupting x-rays, or gorging on matter from our solar system. Our solar system, and our Milky Way Galaxy, are a lot like Southern California’s weather. Sun goes up, sun goes down. Sun goes up, sun goes down. Repeat. Now, for more of the scientific explanation of the image we see above.
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“Astronomers have used NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory to show that multiple eruptions from a supermassive black hole over 50 million years have rearranged the cosmic landscape at the center of a group of galaxies.
Scientists discovered this history of black hole eruptions by studying NGC 5813, a group of galaxies about 105 million light years from Earth. These Chandra observations are the longest ever obtained of a galaxy group, lasting for just over a week. The Chandra data are shown in this new composite image where the X-rays from Chandra (purple) have been combined with visible light data (red, green and blue).
Galaxy groups are like their larger cousins, galaxy clusters, but instead of containing hundreds or even thousands of galaxies like clusters do, galaxy groups are typically comprised of 50 or fewer galaxies. Like galaxy clusters, groups of galaxies are enveloped by giant amounts of hot gas that emit X-rays.
The erupting supermassive black hole is located in the central galaxy of NGC 5813. The black hole’s spin, coupled with gas spiraling toward the black hole, can produce a rotating, tightly wound vertical tower of magnetic field that flings a large fraction of the inflowing gas away from the vicinity of the black hole in an energetic, high-speed jet.”7
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Well, My Dear Shoevians, it looks like there is going to me more like ten images today and not the nine I had previously mentioned. I had left out one of the images; link, narrative and name. I have, since I found the problem, added the link, name and information for out next image for this edition of ‘Lost in Space’. I really cannot think of a better group of people toget ‘Lost in Space’ with, or better stars and images to share whilst we are lost! Now, let me share our next image, and I will catch you on the other side!
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Chandra Finds Intriguing Member of Black Hole Family-Tree
8(NGC 2276: NASA’s Chandra Finds Intriguing Member of Black Hole Family Tree)
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Our image, above, is of the galaxy NGC-2276. It is located 100 million light-years from our earth here in the Milky Way. Now, the reason for its inclusion in this article, and the reason that NASA has found it “Intriguing” is that NGC-2276 contains a black hole in a state of evolution not previously seen before! The discovery of this black hole, at this time, helps to fill in the holes in the evolution of black holes. Much like the finding of Cro-Mangon man helped scientists fill in a hole in man’s evolutionary chain. As usual, my abilities to share this scientific information are adequate, but let me give the scientists at NASA a swing! I will catch you on the other side! 🙂
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“A newly discovered object in the galaxy NGC 2276 may prove to be an important black hole that helps fill in the evolutionary story of these exotic objects, as described in our latestpress release. The main image in this graphic contains a composite image of NGC 2766 that includes X-rays from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory (pink) combined with optical data from the Hubble Space Telescope and the Digitized Sky Survey (red, green and blue). The inset is a zoom into the interesting source that lies in one of the galaxy’s spiral arms. This object, called NGC 2276-3c, is seen in radio waves (red) in observations from the European Very Long Baseline Interferometry Network, or EVN.
Astronomers have combined the X-ray and radio data to determine that NGC 2766-3c is likely an intermediate-mass black hole (IMBH). As the name suggests, IMBHs are black holes that are larger than stellar-mass black holes that contain about five to thirty times the mass of the Sun, but smaller than supermassive black holes that are millions or even billions of solar masses. The researchers estimated the mass of NGC 2766-3c using a well-known relationship between how bright the source is in radio and X-rays, and the mass of the black hole. The X-ray and radio brightness were based on observations with Chandra and the EVN. They found that NGC 2276-3c contains about 50,000 times the mass of the Sun.”9
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50,00 TIMES the mass of our sun, Sol! WOOF! That is incredible, to say the least. I am just learning so much, in this edition of ‘Lost in Space’. Oh, bye the way, did I tell you, My Dear Shoevians? Tell you that a couple of school teachers (here in the states) have picked up (via Pintrest) MY ‘Lost in Space’ as/for a TEACHING TOOL?!?!? YES! I received notification, via pintrest, that two Middle School teachers, right here in America, are using my editions of ‘Lost in Space’ to TEACH about the stars and our solar system! Amazing, I have always wanted to be a teacher… Now, my writing is used in teaching of dozens of students all over America! That makes me really feel like I have reached a benchmark in my writing and publishing career! Drop me a message, or comment, and tell me what you My Dear Shoevians think about my article series ‘Lost in Space’ being used to teach Middle School students about the stars and galaxies around us! Just cool enough for school! 🙂
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NGC 1333: Stellar Sparklers That Last
10(NGC 1333: Stellar Sparklers That Last)
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At 780 light-years from Earth the galaxy group named NGC-1333 is our next subject. The image, above, is really quite incredible because of the way it has been created for our viewing pleasure. This image is not just done with the imaging capabilities of Chandra, or any other one space telescope. No, rather, this image is the combination of many space and earth based telescopes, and a a testament to the capabilities, and potential, of many scientists and scientific groups working together. Again, let me have the good people as NASA explain this, better.
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“This new composite image combines X-rays from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory (pink) with infrared data from the Spitzer Space Telescope (red) as well as optical data from the Digitized Sky Survey and the National Optical Astronomy Observatory Mayall 4-meter telescope on Kitt Peak (red, green, blue). The Chandra data reveal 95 young stars glowing in X-ray light, 41 of which had not been identified previously using infrared observations with Spitzer because they lacked infrared emission from a surrounding disk.
To make a detailed study of the X-ray properties of young stars, a team of astronomers, led by Elaine Winston from the University of Exeter, analyzed both the Chandra X-ray data of NGC 1333, located about 780 light years from Earth, and of the Serpens cloud, a similar cluster of young stars about 1100 light years away. They then compared the two datasets with observations of the young stars in the Orion Nebula Cluster, perhaps the most-studied young star cluster in the Galaxy.”11
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Even if Republicans refuse to work with Democrats in the House of Representatives? It IS good to know that scientists from five different space observation organizations from five different locations around the United States all worked together to make this image an incredible image to behold, and an incredible image to hold-up as a testament to the potential of Americans working TOGETHER!
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NGC 2207 and IC 2163: Galactic Get-Together has Impressive Light Display
(NGC 2207 and IC 2163: Galactic Get-Together has Impressive Light Display)
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Again, in the spirit of working together we see two galaxiesworking together to create an impressive light display! LOL, not really. It is an impressive light display, to be sure, but I am pretty darn sure that the inhabitants (f there are any) are not working together to collide their galaxies just for our entertainment! NGC-2207 and IC-2163 are, roughly, 100 million light-years away from our Earth. They are, both, spiral arm galaxies just like our Milky Way! They are in the process of colliding into each other, and making an incredible light display, in the process. The galaxy to the right, IC-2163, appears to be a much older galaxy. See how the arms are more spread out? How the lines of stars do not wrap around each other? Now, look to the galaxy to the left, NGC-2207. In this galaxy we can clearly see it is much younger. The arms are still wrapped tightly around the galactic center. The star, within the arms, are close and compact. It is a shame that these two celestial giants will meet their doom in a spectacular display of lights. Here is some more information from the scientists at NASA:
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“Located about 130 million light years from Earth, in the constellation of Canis Major, this pair of spiral galaxies has been caught in a grazing encounter. NGC 2207 and IC 2163 have hosted three supernova explosions in the past 15 years and have produced one of the most bountiful collections of super bright X-raylights known. These special objects – known as “ultraluminous X-ray sources” (ULXs) – have been found using data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory.
As in our Milky Way galaxy, NGC 2207 and IC 2163 are sprinkled with many star systems known as X-ray binaries, which consist of a star in a tight orbit around either a neutron star or a “stellar-mass” black hole. The strong gravity of the neutron star or black hole pulls matter from the companion star. As this matter falls toward the neutron star or black hole, it is heated to millions of degrees and generates X-rays.
ULXs have far brighter X-rays than most “normal” X-ray binaries. The true nature of ULXs is still debated, but they are likely a peculiar type of X-ray binary. The black holes in some ULXs may be heavier than stellar mass black holes and could represent a hypothesized, but as yet unconfirmed, intermediate-mass category of black holes.
This composite image of NGC 2207 and IC 2163 contains Chandra data in pink, optical light data from the Hubble Space Telescope in red, green, and blue (appearing as blue, white, orange, and brown), and infrared data from the Spitzer Space Telescope in red.”12
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That image is going to be hard to beat! However, don’t worry yourself too much, because I do believe that I have it beat (and still keeping the best for last, as always!) with this next image. So far, today, we have witnessed; gorging super-massive black holes, stellar sparklers that last, and two spiral arm galaxies in the process of colliding. Now, My Dear Shoevians, I have to share… … … (drum roll, please)… an ‘Exploded Star Blooms Like a Flower’! Check it out, and I will see you on the other side!
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G299.2-2.9: Exploded Star Blooms Like a Cosmic Flower
13(G299.2-2.9: Exploded Star Blooms Like a Cosmic Flower)
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WOOF! Sorry about my linguistic digress, but My Dear Shoevians, WOOF! This is an incredible image of a stellar phenomenon that, strangely, resembles a simple and basic feature of plant life here on Earth! Our cosmic explorations certainly do take us to places unknown, that appear to us as known! This star, G229.2-2.9, is only about 100,000 light-years from Earth. So close, and yet so far… in time, too! The explosion, that created this blossom-like cosmic array, happen (roughyl) 4,500 years ago, or about the time that the Egyptians were building their very first pyramids in the sands of Egypt. Now, My Dear Shoevians, this is not a nebula (the factory for stars), this is not the remnants of a galaxy. This is just the remnants of a exploded star! A star that went super-nova about 4,500 years ago and left us with a wondrous and incredible image to view, to enjoy and to learn from. Here is a bit more of the science from the good people at NASA:
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“G299 was left over by a particular class of supernovas called Type Ia. Astronomers think that a Type Ia supernova is a thermonuclear explosion – involving the fusion of elements and release of vast amounts of energy – of a white dwarf star in a tight orbit with a companion star. If the white dwarf’s partner is a typical, Sun-like star, the white dwarf can become unstable and explode as it draws material from its companion. Alternatively, the white dwarf is in orbit with another white dwarf, the two may merge and can trigger an explosion.
Regardless of their triggering mechanism, Type Ia supernovas have long been known to be uniform in their extreme brightness, usually outshining the entire galaxy where they are found. This is important because scientists use these objects as cosmic mileposts, allowing them to accurately measure the distances of galaxies billions of light years away, and to determine the rate of expansion of the Universe.
Traditional theoretical models of Type Ia supernovas generally predict that these explosions would be symmetric, creating a near perfect sphere as they expand. These models have been supported by results showing that remnants of Type Ia supernovas are more symmetric than remnants of supernovas involving the collapse of massive stars.”14
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Well, My Dear Shoevians, I wasn’t going to mention this until the end of the article… but I just cannot wait. As of that last image credit, this edition of ‘Lost in Space’ qualifies of‘Gargantuan’ status by The Other Shoe publication rules! It is over a dozen pages in length (content, we are currently on page 18), and contains at least 14 footnotes. That was #14 footnote for the last image. Thankfully, I am nearly done with the writing of this article. It is 1:46AM and I am in horrific pain, and really need to get some rest… sleep. Now, for our nest-to-last image for the day. See you, My Dear Shoevians, on the other side!
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A Precocious Black Hole
15(A Precocious Black Hole)
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Located 220 million light-years from our Milky Way Galaxy this black hole has grown too fast and too large for its host galaxy. The host galaxy is CID-947 and, as we can clearly see, this black hole is bursting out of the host galaxy. It makes for an incredible image, for our viewing pleasure, but calls into question many scientific beliefs about black holes and their relationship with their host galaxies. Shattering understanding is something that space and space exploration does on a regular basis. It is something that you, My Dear Shoevians, would have to get used to if you wanted to go into this field of scientific exploration. Now, as usual, let’s get some more information from the good people at NASA:
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“Researchers have discovered a black hole that grew much more quickly than its host galaxy. The discovery calls into question previous assumptions on the development of galaxies.
The black hole was originally discovered using NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, and was then detected in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and by ESA’s XMM-Newton and NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory.
Benny Trakhtenbrot, from ETH Zurich’s Institute for Astronomy, and an international team of astrophysicists, performed a follow-up observation of this black hole using the 10 meter Keck telescope in Hawaii and were surprised by the results. The data, collected with a new instrument, revealed a giant black hole in an otherwise normal, distant galaxy, called CID-947. Because its light had to travel a very long distance, the scientists were observing it at a period when the universe was less than two billion years old, just 14 percent of its current age (almost 14 billion years have passed since the Big Bang).
An analysis of the data collected in Hawaii revealed that the black hole in CID-947, with nearly 7 billion solar masses, is among the most massive black holes discovered up to now. What surprised researchers in particular was not the black hole’s record mass, but rather the galaxy’s mass. “The measurements correspond to the mass of a typical galaxy,” says Trakhtenbrot, a postdoctoral fellow working within the Extragalactic Astrophysics research group…”16
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That, My Dear Shoevians, brings us to the final image of this ‘Gargantuan’ edition of ‘Lost in Space’. As usual, I have saved the best for last, just as planned and just as always. Let me take a moment here to say “Thank you!” for dropping by, today. Thank you for making The Other Shoe a place you come to read, look at incredible images and (maybe) learn a little. I always hope that you have enjoyed your visit, and that you tell others of your time spent here, so that they too can come and find a nice place to read and learn, and have fun! Now, for out final image(s) of this edition. I will ‘see’ you on the other side!
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IYL 2015: Chandra Celebrates The International Year of Light
17(IYL 2015: Chandra Celebrates The International Year of Light)
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This is, actually, FIVE images in one place. I managed to copy the information for four of the images, and I will share that with all of you, My Dear Shoevians, below:
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“Messier 51 (M51):
This galaxy, nicknamed the “Whirlpool,” is a spiral galaxy, like our Milky Way, located about 30 million light years from Earth. This composite image combines data collected at X-ray wavelengths by Chandra (purple), ultraviolet by the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX, blue); visible light by Hubble (green), and infrared by Spitzer (red).
SNR E0519-69.
SNR E0519-69.0:
When a massive star exploded in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy to the Milky Way, it left behind an expanding shell of debris called SNR 0519-69.0. Here, multimillion degree gas is seen in X-rays from Chandra (blue). The outer edge of the explosion (red) and stars in the field of view are seen in visible light from Hubble.
MSH 11-62
MSH 11-62:
When X-rays, shown in blue, from Chandra and XMM-Newton are joined in this image with radio data from the Australia Telescope Compact Array (pink) and visible light data from the Digitized Sky Survey (DSS, yellow), a new view of the region emerges. This object, known as MSH 11-62, contains an inner nebula of charged particles that could be an outflow from the dense spinning core left behind when a massive star exploded.
Cygnus A
Cygnus A:
This galaxy, at a distance of some 700 million light years, contains a giant bubble filled with hot, X-ray emitting gas detected by Chandra (blue). Radio data from the NSF’s Very Large Array (red) reveal “hot spots” about 300,000 light years out from the center of the galaxy where powerful jets emanating from the galaxy’s supermassive black hole end. Visible light data (yellow) from both Hubble and the DSS complete this view.
RCW 86
RCW 86:
This supernova remnant is the remains of an exploded star that may have been witnessed by Chinese astronomers almost 2,000 years ago. Modern telescopes have the advantage of observing this object in light that is completely invisible to the unaided human eye. This image combines X-rays from Chandra (pink and blue) along with visible emission from hydrogen atoms in the rim of the remnant, observed with the 0.9-m Curtis Schmidt telescope at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (yellow).
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That brings us to 2AM… to my very end of tolerance to my pain, and to the time when I simply must get some rest for tomorrow. I will be unable to publish this article tonight, Tuesday August 25th, 2015. However, tomorrow is Wednesday and I will have this article published by 11AM to Noon Pacific time for everyone’s viewing pleasure. This really has been a‘Gargantuan’ edition of ‘Lost in Space’. Weighing in at over TWENTY pages in length, more than 16 footnotes and TEN (Really nine + 5) images for your viewing pleasure. I hope that this article has satisfied your yen for space images and science.
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As always, it has been my pleasure to bring these incredible images to you, My Dear Shoevians. If you have enjoyed yourself? All I ask is that you ‘Like’ and ‘Share’ this work with all your; family, friends, co-workers and acquaintances via your social media! You can find me on Facebook under The Other Shoe. There are four blog locations, each with a different theme, different ‘looks’ and a different way of presenting images and the like. I hope everyone has a great rest of the week, and I look forward to seeing you all again, right here, soon!
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Adieu!
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Thank YOU!
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Danny Hanning Writer, Editor, Research Staff and Publisher at The Other Shoe
© 2010 – 2015 Hanning Web Wurx and The Other Shoe
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Daniel Hanning
The Other Shoe 
The Mars Report August 19th, 2016
August 18, 2016 Leave a comment
Martian Rover ‘Curiosity’ Self-portrait at ‘Big Sky’
(Martian Rover ‘Curiosity’ Self-portrait at ‘Big Sky’)[1]
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Welcome, My Dear Shoevians, to ‘The Mars Report’. The very first edition of this multi-year notable article series to be published in many months. This edition contains the most recent images taken by the Curiosity rover of the Martian surface. My Dear Shoevians this return to writing and publishing this, very popular, article series signals my desire to make a genuine attempt to return to writing and publishing at ‘The Other Shoe’. I know that I have tried to return, many times before, just to have my pain and other physical difficulties cloud, and in the end, deter my best wishes. Today I am here to present to you, My Dear Shoevians, the longest edition of this storied series in nearly a year’s time!
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Today I have seven images to share, over the next several pages. These images date back to October 2015 and bring us up to date with very new & ‘fresh’ images from this month, August! I do not know that I will be able to bring the level of writing narrative that some of you, My Dear Shoevians, may have become accustom. However, I will write (in my own words) as much as I can and when I tire? I will quote from the NASA/JPL[2] web site when I found the image shared.
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New Waypoint, Science Team Newcomers for Curiosity
(New Waypoint, Science Team Newcomers for Curiosity)[3]
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The image, above, is a map of the Martian surface showing the progress of the Martian rover ‘Curiosity’. At the top right of the image, just to the left of ‘Yellowknife’ (the blue triangle) is a blue star. This blue star is the Landing Zone of the ‘Curiosity’ rover. Named, by NASA/JPL personnel, ‘Bradbury Point’ (named after the famous sci-fi writer Ray Bradbury) this is the spot where ‘Curiosity’ started its Martian Adventure back in August of 2012. Now, for some of you, My Dear Shoevians, that are recent visitors to ‘The Other Shoe’ you may not know that I started ‘The Mars Report’ (in its current form) with the landing of ‘Curiosity’ now four years ago!
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Four years, this month, which I have been writing and publishing this very article series for all of you, My Dear Shoevians. Humm, you might well think of this edition of ‘The Mars Report’ as the fourth anniversary issue! I hadn’t thought of that, until I wrote the words right now. However, I might just make the next edition… the Anniversary Edition… so I can do it right! Now, as I was explaining, the map (above) shows ‘Bradbury Point’ where the ‘Curiosity’ rover started its journey with the last (and most recent arrival) at ‘”Naukluft Plateau’ shown at the bottom left of the image. Throughout the following images, you can go back and check this map so that you can follow along as we make our way to ‘”Naukluft Plateau’!
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Martian Rover ‘Curiosity’ Self-portrait at ‘Big Sky’
(Curiosity Self-Portrait at ‘Big Sky’ Drilling Site)[4]
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The image above, also seen at the top of the article, is a wonderful self-portrait taken by Curiosity in the ‘Big Sky’ area leading to Mount Sharp. The image was taken (the composite image, this image is a mosaic of several dozen images. The self-portrait was taken October 6th, 2015 by the Mars Hand Lens Imager (MAHLI) camera at the end of the rover’s robotic arm. The robotic arm is not pictured. This is the most recent self-portrait (in this style) taken by the rover.
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Knobbly Textured Sandstone on Mount Sharp, Mars
(Knobbly Textured Sandstone on Mount Sharp, Mars)[5]
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The image, above, shows patches of Martian sandstone visible in the lower-left and upper portions of the image, they have a knobbly texture due to the nodules that are apparently more resistant to erosion than the host rock. The image was taken with the Mast Cam on the rover, and taken on March 9th, 2016. This sandstone formation was sighted on the rover’s approach to the ‘Naukluft Plateau’.
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The image is present with a color adjustment that approaches the white balance seen here on earth. This mosaic is comprised of six images taken with the Left Eye of the rover’s Mast Cam. The white balancing helps earthbound scientists to recognize materials and elements in the images provided. Now, My Dear Shoevians, when NASA/JPL provides multiple versions of a particular image, then I will share the Real Color’ and the “white Balanced’ versions.
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Curiosity’s Arm Over ‘Marimba’ Target on Mount Sharp
(Curiosity’s Arm Over ‘Marimba’ Target on Mount Sharp)[6]
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Our next image, above, was taken during the week preceding the fourth anniversary of the mission’s dramatic sky-crane landing. This image shows Curiosity lowering the robotic arm directly over the target called ‘Marimba’ on the lower side of Mount Sharp. The image was taken by the Navigation Camera (NavCam) on August 2nd, 2016. (a mere 16 days ago, My Dear Shoevians!) The robotic arm was lowered over a patch of bedrock that was selected for the rover’s next drilling operation. Once the drilling is complete, the rock powder is collected and transferred to the onboard laboratory for analysis and observation. My Dear Readers, in past editions of ‘The Mars Report’ I have shared images of the drill device, holes drilled by the rover and image of bedrock and sandstone post drilling. Today, I am working to give you a wide range of images, in a seven image edition of ‘The Mars Report’.
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Full-Circle Panorama Beside ‘Namib Dune’ on Mars
(Full-Circle Panorama Beside ‘Namib Dune’ on Mars)[7]
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Now, My Dear Shoevians, this image just might be one of those images. Meaning, that you might have to click on the image and have it take you to a larger version of the image to get the full impact of the image I have shared. What we have here, My Dear Shoevians, is a Full Circle Panorama Self-Portrait of the Martian rover Curiosity! It is not often that NASA/JPL shares for our enjoyment and edification. However, when the do? I really like to share them, as they show a huge area of the Martian surface in a rare landscape format. Directly behind the rover, closest to Curiosity and on the left side of the image, is the downwind face of ‘Namib Dune’.
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‘Nambid Dune’ is part of the ‘Bagnold Dunes’. Further in the background, and in the center-right side of the image, is ‘Mount Sharp’. This image was taken December 18th, 2015. Yes, My Dear Shoevians, this image is a little out of chronologic order. I had hoped that I would get everything perfect in this ‘All New’ edition of ‘The Mars Report’… but, alas, I am still human and did make this minor mistake. L However, in my defense, I am sharing this image of a dune face… because the nest image is a close-up of a dune face… that, well, I thought was incredible! So, without further adieu… I give you… this!
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Mastcam Telephoto of a Martian Dune’s Downwind Face
(Mastcam Telephoto of a Martian Dune’s Downwind Face)[8]
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Well, My Dear Shoevians, it becomes clear. My reason for placing the previous image out of chronological order, that is, becomes clear with the image above. This is the ‘Nambid Dune’ up close via the telephoto lens of the MastCam (Mast Camera). Again, My Dear Shoevians, you just might want to click on this image, too. This telephoto image of the ‘Nambid Dune’ just really struck me, as I was researching this week, for images for this ‘All New’ edition of ‘The Mars Report’. If you click on the image (now this feature is not available at all my blog location, but it IS available at the primary location of ‘The Other Shoe’). The ‘Nambid Dune’ is a part of the ‘Bagnold Dunes’ field along the northwestern flank of Mount Sharp.
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The image was taken December 21st, 2015 during the 1,200th Martian Day, or sol, of Curiosity’s work on Mars. The top of the dune face is about 13 to 17 feet in size. This image, again, uses ‘White Balancing’ so it appears in Earth-Like lighting conditions. Yes, it looks like it is black/white, but if you click or enlarge the image you can see spots of red rocks, in the lower right area of the image. Now, I know that this is an impressive image…. And I said that it “really struck me”… However, if you are a long term Shoevian, then you know that “I save the best image for last”!
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Full-Circle Vista from ‘Naukluft Plateau’ on Mars
(Full-Circle Vista from ‘Naukluft Plateau’ on Mars)[9]
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My Dear Shoevians, this is a MUST CLICK image! Of all the images that I have shared, in this edition of ‘The Mars Report’, this image is breathtaking! This image was taken mid-afternoon, on April 4th, 2016, as a part of a long-term campaign to document the context and details of the geology and landforms along Curiosity’s traverse since landing August 2012. The view combines dozens of images in a mosaic of a vista from ‘Naukluft Plateau’ on lower Mount Sharp. Here is some of the description, from the NASA/JPL web site.
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“The foreground and middle distance show a geologic scene dominated by eroded remnants of a finely layered ancient sandstone deposit. Since landing, the rover traversed through terrains dominated by water-lain sedimentary rocks (mudstones and siltstones, and early on, conglomerates), some of which have contained minerals like clays that attest to the ancient presence of water. However, the rover crossed into very different geology while climbing onto the Naukluft Plateau. The sandstone here appears to be dominated by thick layers of windblown sand, suggesting that these deposits formed in a drier epoch. These rocks resemble the types of rocks that a dune field like the “Bagnold Dunes“[10]
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The scene is presented with the ‘White Balancing’ color correction to approximate earth lighting conditions. This gives viewers a better understanding of the view, and scientists a better view of the different types of rocks and rack faces. The center of the image is a portion of the Gale Crater, with the upper Mount Sharp on the horizon at the right of the image. It was taken with the MastCam (Mast Camera) with the left and right eyes.
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With that, My Dear Shoevians, we come to the end of this edition of ‘The Mars Report’. As always, My Dear Shoevians, IF you have enjoyed this article? PLEASE ‘Share’ and ‘Like’ the article via your preferred social media outlets. I hope that all of you enjoyed this article, it did take me several hours, over two days, to; prepare, write, edit and publish. It is a labor of love, because I love sharing these images and the hope that (someday) mankind will return to the stars!
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Thank you!
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Adieu!
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Daniel Hanning- Writer, Research Staff, Editor and Publisher of The Other Shoe
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© 2010 – 2016 Hanning Web Wurx and The Other Shoe
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[1] http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/jpl/pia19920/curiosity-self-portrait-at-big-sky-drilling-site
[2] http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/images/index.html
[3] http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/jpl/pia20166/new-waypoint-science-team-newcomers-for-curiosity
[4] http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/jpl/pia19920/curiosity-self-portrait-at-big-sky-drilling-site
[5] http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/jpl/pia20322/knobbly-textured-sandstone-on-mount-sharp-mars
[6] http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/jpl/pia20764/curiositys-arm-over-marimba-target-on-mount-sharp
[7] http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/jpl/full-circle-panorama-beside-namib-dune-on-mars
[8] http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/jpl/mastcam-telephoto-of-a-martian-dunes-downwind-face
[9] http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/pia20332/full-circle-vista-from-naukluft-plateau-on-mars
[10] http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/pia20332/full-circle-vista-from-naukluft-plateau-on-mars
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Filed under Mars Curiosity, NASA Mars Curiosity Rover, NASA Mars Mission, Science, Space Exploration, Technology Tagged with Curiosity Rover, HD Curiosity Images, Hubble HD Images From Space, Images, Lifestyles, Mars Curiosity, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Mercury, Messenger, Messenger Mercury, NASA, NASA HD Images, NASA Messenger, NASA Messenger Mission to Mercury, NASA NEW HORIZONS MISSION, NASA/JLP Mars Images, Neptune, Pluto, Science, Social Commentary, Space Exploration, Space Exploration Daniel's Health, Space Exploration Electronics, Space Exploration HD Space Images, Space Exploration HD Star Images, Space Exploration Hubble, Space Exploration Hubble HD Images From Space, Space Exploration Hubble Space Telescope, Space Exploration JPL HD Mars Images, Space Exploration Lifestyles, Space Images, Technology, Technology Hubble HD Images From Space, Technology Mars Curiosity, TECHNOLOGY TAGGED WITH CURIOSITY HD IMAGES