NASA offers dazzling new sights (and sounds) of the Andromeda galaxy
Even a century after Edward Hubble confirmed its existence, astronomers learn new details on the Andromeda galaxy which helps us to better understand our cosmic district and the wider universe. Earlier this week, NASA published its latest detailed images of the spiral sister of the Milky Way, as well as an ethereal sonification of its energy wavelengths.
To reach an external view of the galaxy of the Milky Way is a bit like trying to examine the whole planet of your backyard-that is to say that it is impossible from the current point of view of humanity. The next best option for astronomers is to look at similar spiral galaxies, the closest of which is more unpleasant 31. Also known as Andromeda, the most immediate neighbor on the Milky Way is around 2.5 million light years away, and offers an excellent option to study how spiral galaxies are formed and evolving over time. This is also where a team led by astronomer Vera Rubin first detected the abnormal equipment now known as “Dark Matter” in the 1960s.
Andromeda’s most recent overviews are based on composite data collected by an international range of the most powerful telescopes in the world, including the Chandra X-ray observatory, the ESA XMM-Newton and even optical information from a pair of astrophotographers. The different types of light cover visible wavelengths, infrared, radio and ultraviolet. When they are superimposed, they represent a dynamic and active galaxy that recalls ours – and information already helps experts develop the history of Andromeda life.
“For example, Chandra’s X -rays reveal high energy radiation around the supermassive black hole in the center of M31 as well as many other smaller and dense dense objects across the galaxy,” said NASA in its ad.
Astronomers are not limited to studying the visual representations of Andromeda’s energy; They can also assess them through sound. In addition to the images, NASA researchers compiled Galaxy data sets in a sonification by separating each wavelength, by turning them and stacking them from each other in the order of their frequency. From top to bottom, this means X -rays, ultraviolet, optics, infrared and finally radio waves. These are then assigned a range of corresponding notes, with the volume of the brightness, while the spectrum location determines the height. The result is a Ton Dreamlink choir while space telescopes cross the 152,000 diameters of the light year of Andromeda.
There is still an incalculable wealth of information to learn from the neighbor of the Milky Way, perhaps even the means to finally understand the dark matter detected for the first time by Rubin. This is at least what NASA hopes to achieve with the next Roman spatial telescope Nancy Grace Roman which should be operated in 2027.
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