|
||||
|
|
||||
|
|
||||
|
Chandra locates planetary ore in colliding galaxies NASA NEWS RELEASE Posted: January 7, 2004 NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has discovered rich deposits of neon, magnesium and silicon in a pair of colliding galaxies known as The Antennae. When the clouds containing these elements cool, an exceptionally high number of stars with planets should form. These results may foreshadow the fate of our Milky Way and its future collision with the Andromeda Galaxy.
When galaxies collide, direct hits between stars are extremely rare, but collisions between huge gas clouds in the galaxies can trigger a stellar baby boom. The most massive of these stars race through their evolution in a few million years and explode as supernovas. Heavy elements manufactured inside these stars are blown away by the explosions and enrich the surrounding gas for thousands of light-years. The amount of heavy elements supports earlier studies that indicate there was a very high rate of relatively recent supernovas, 30 times that of the Milky Way," according to collaborator Andreas Zezas of the CfA. The supernova violence also heats the gas to millions of degrees Celsius. This makes much of the matter in the clouds invisible to optical telescopes, but able to be observed by an X-ray telescope. Chandra data revealed for the first time regions of varying enrichment in the galaxies: in one cloud, magnesium and silicon are 16 and 24 times as abundant as in the sun. "These are the kinds of elements that form the ultimate building blocks for habitable planets," said Andrew King of the University of Leicester, U.K., and a study coauthor. "This process occurs in all galaxies, but it is greatly enhanced by the collision. Usually we only see the new elements in diluted form as they are mixed up with the rest of the interstellar gas." CfA coauthor Alessandro Baldi noted, "This is spectacular confirmation of the idea that the basis of chemistry, of planets and ultimately of life is assembled inside stars and spread through galaxies by supernova explosions." As the enriched gas cools, a new generation of stars will form and, with the stars, new planets. Some studies indicate clouds enriched in heavy elements are more likely to form stars with planetary systems, so in the future an unusually high number of planets may form in The Antennae. "If life arises on a significant fraction of these planets, then in the future The Antennae will be teeming with life," speculated Francois Schweizer, another coauthor, from the Carnegie Observatories in Pasadena, Calif. "A vast number of sun-like stars and planetary systems will age in unison for billions of years." At a distance of about 60 million light-years, The Antennae system is the nearest example of a collision between two large galaxies. The collision, which began a couple hundred million years ago, has been so violent that gas and stars from the galaxies have been ejected into the two long arcs that give the system its name. The Chandra image shows spectacular loops of 3-million-degree gas spreading out south of The Antennae. "These loops may be carrying out some of the elements dispersed by supernovas into intergalactic space," said Trevor Ponman of Birmingham University, U.K. The Antennae give a close-up view of the type of collisions
that were common in the early universe and likely led to the
formation of most stars existing today. They may also provide a
glimpse of the future of our Milky Way Galaxy, which is on a
collision course with the Andromeda Galaxy. At the present
rate, a crash such as the one now occurring in The Antennae
could happen in about 3 billion years. Tremendous gravitational
forces will disrupt both galaxies and reform them, probably as
a giant elliptical galaxy with hundreds of millions of young
sun-like stars, and possibly planetary systems.
|
Apollo 11 special patch Special collectors' patch marking the 35th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 moon landing is now available.U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide Inside Apollo mission control
An insider's view of how Apollo flight controllers operated and just what they faced when events were crucial.U.S. The ultimate Apollo 11 DVD This exceptional chronicle of the historic Apollo 11 lunar landing mission features new digital transfers of film and television coverage unmatched by any other.U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide Next ISS crew
Own a little piece of history with this official patch for the International Space Station's Expedition 11 crew. We'll ship yours today!U.S. STS-134 Patch Free shipping to U.S. addresses! The final planned flight of space shuttle Endeavour is symbolized in the official embroidered crew patch for STS-134. Available in our store!Final Shuttle Mission Patch Free shipping to U.S. addresses! The crew emblem for the final space shuttle mission is now available in our store. Get this piece of history!Apollo Collage This beautiful one piece set features the Apollo program emblem surrounded by the individual mission logos.STS-133 Patch Free shipping to U.S. addresses! The final planned flight of space shuttle Discovery is symbolized in the official embroidered crew patch for STS-133. Available in our store!Anniversary Shuttle Patch Free shipping to U.S. addresses! This embroidered patch commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Program. The design features the space shuttle Columbia's historic maiden flight of April 12, 1981.Mercury anniversary Free shipping to U.S. addresses! ![]() Celebrate the 50th anniversary of Alan Shephard's historic Mercury mission with this collectors' item, the official commemorative embroidered patch. Fallen Heroes Patch Collection The official patches from Apollo 1, the shuttle Challenger and Columbia crews are available in the store.Soviet Space For the first time ever available in the West. Rocket & Space Corporation Energia: a complete pictorial history of the Soviet/Russian Space Program from 1946 to the present day all in full color. Available from our store.U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide Viking patch This embroidered mission patch celebrates NASA's Viking Project which reached the Red Planet in 1976.U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide Apollo 7 DVD For 11 days the crew of Apollo 7 fought colds while they put the Apollo spacecraft through a workout, establishing confidence in the machine what would lead directly to the bold decision to send Apollo 8 to the moon just 2 months later.U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide Gemini 12 Gemini 12: The NASA Mission Reports covers the voyage of James Lovell and Buzz Aldrin that capped the Gemini program's efforts to prove the technologies and techniques that would be needed for the Apollo Moon landings. Includes CD-ROM.U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide Apollo 12 tribute DVD set ![]() New! Featuring the jovial crew of Pete Conrad, Dick Gordon and Alan Bean, the Apollo 12 mission was struck by lightning shortly after liftoff but proceeded on the second successful exploration voyage to the lunar surface. This three-disc DVD brings the mission to life with extraordinary detail. U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide Fallen Heroes special patch This special 12-inch embroidered patch commemorates the U.S. astronauts who made the ultimate sacrifice, honoring the crews of Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia.U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide Women in Space Women of Space: Cool Careers on the Final Frontier is for girls, young women, and anyone else interested in learning about exciting careers in space exploration. Includes CD-ROM.U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide Mars rover poster This new poster features some of the best pictures from NASA's amazing Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity.U.S. Gemini 12 Gemini 12: The NASA Mission Reports covers the voyage of James Lovell and Buzz Aldrin that capped the Gemini program's efforts to prove the technologies and techniques that would be needed for the Apollo Moon landings. Includes CD-ROM.U.S. - U.K. - E.U. - Worldwide Get e-mail updates Sign up for our NewsAlert service and have the latest news in astronomy and space e-mailed direct to your desktop (privacy note: your e-mail address will not be used for any other purpose). |
||||
|
INDEX | PLUS | NEWS ARCHIVE | LAUNCH SCHEDULE ASTRONOMY NOW | STORE ADVERTISE © 2012 Spaceflight Now Inc. |
|||||