Astronomy Picture of the Day |
APOD: 2023 November 8 – Perseus Galaxy Cluster from Euclid
Explanation:
There's a new space telescope in the sky:
Euclid.
Equipped with two large panoramic cameras,
Euclid captures light from the
visible to the near-infrared.
It took five hours of observing for
Euclid's 1.2-meter diameter primary mirror
to capture, through its
sharp optics,
the 1000+ galaxies in the
Perseus cluster, which lies 250 million
light years away.
More than 100,000 galaxies are visible in the background,
some as
far away as 10 billion light years.
The revolutionary nature of
Euclid
lies in the combination of its wide
field of view (twice the area of the full moon),
its high angular resolution
(thanks to its 620 Megapixel camera), and its infrared vision,
which captures both images and
spectra.
Euclid's initial surveys, covering a third of the sky and recording over
2 billion galaxies, will enable a
study of how
dark matter
and
dark energy have shaped
our universe.
APOD: 2023 January 26 - Active Galaxy NGC 1275
Explanation:
Active
galaxy
NGC 1275 is the central, dominant member of the large and
relatively nearby
Perseus Cluster of Galaxies.
Wild-looking at visible wavelengths, the active galaxy is also a
prodigious source of
x-rays
and
radio emission.
NGC 1275 accretes
matter as entire galaxies fall into it, ultimately
feeding a supermassive black hole at the galaxy's core.
This color composite
image made from Hubble Space Telescope
data recorded during 2006.
It highlights the resulting
galactic debris
and filaments of glowing gas,
some up to 20,000 light-years long.
The filaments persist
in NGC 1275, even though
the turmoil of galactic collisions should destroy them.
What keeps the filaments together?
Observations
indicate that the structures, pushed out
from the galaxy's center by the black hole's activity, are
held together by magnetic fields.
Also known as Perseus A,
NGC 1275 spans over 100,000 light years and
lies about 230 million light years away.
APOD: 2018 January 2 - Unexpected X-Rays from Perseus Galaxy Cluster
Explanation:
Why does the Perseus galaxy cluster shine so strangely in one specific color of X-rays?
No one is sure, but a much-debated hypothesis holds that these
X-rays
are a clue to the long-sought identity of
dark matter.
At the center of this mystery is a 3.5
Kilo-electronvolt
(KeV) X-ray color that appears to glow excessively only when regions well outside
the cluster center are observed,
whereas the area directly surrounding a likely central
supermassive black hole is
actually deficient in 3.5 keV X-rays.
One
proposed resolution
-- quite controversial --
is that something never seen before might be present:
fluorescent dark matter (FDM).
This form of
particle dark matter might be able to absorb 3.5 keV X-radiation.
If operating, FDM, after absorption,
might later emit these X-rays from all over the cluster, creating an
emission line.
However, when seen
superposed in front of the central region
surrounding the black hole,
FDM's absorption would be more prominent, creating an
absorption line.
Pictured, a composite image of the
Perseus galaxy cluster shows visible and radio light in red, and
X-ray light from the Earth-orbiting
Chandra Observatory in blue.
APOD: 2017 May 4 - The Perseus Cluster Waves
Explanation:
The cosmic swirl and slosh of giant waves
in an enormous reservoir of glowing hot gas
are traced in this enhanced X-ray image from the
Chandra Observatory.
The frame spans over 1 million light-years across the center of
the nearby Perseus Galaxy Cluster,
some 240 million light-years distant.
Like other clusters of galaxies, most of the observable mass in the
Perseus cluster is in the form of the cluster-filling gas.
With temperatures in the tens of millions of degrees, the gas glows brightly
in X-rays.
Computer simulations can reproduce details of the structures
sloshing through
the Perseus cluster's X-ray hot gas, including the remarkable
concave bay seen
below and left of center.
About 200,000 light-years across, twice the size of the Milky Way,
the bay's formation indicates that Perseus itself was likely grazed by
a smaller galaxy cluster billions of years ago.
APOD: 2017 April 5 - Filaments of Active Galaxy NGC 1275
Explanation:
What keeps these filaments attached to this galaxy?
The filaments persist in NGC 1275 even though
the turmoil of galactic collisions should destroy them.
First,
active
galaxy NGC 1275 is the central, dominant member of the large and
relatively nearby
Perseus Cluster of Galaxies.
Wild-looking at visible wavelengths, the active galaxy is also a
prodigious source of
x-rays
and
radio
emission.
NGC 1275 accretes
matter as entire galaxies fall into it, ultimately feeding a
supermassive black hole at the galaxy's core.
This composite image, recreated from
archival Hubble Space Telescope
data, highlights the resulting galactic debris
and filaments of glowing gas,
some up to 20,000 light-years long.
Observations
indicate that the structures, pushed out
from the galaxy's center by the black hole's activity, are
held together by
magnetic fields.
Also known as Perseus A,
NGC 1275
spans over 100,000 light years and
lies about 230 million
light years away.
APOD: 2013 October 6 - Hubble Remix: Active Galaxy NGC 1275
Explanation:
Active
galaxy NGC 1275 is the central, dominant member of the large and
relatively nearby
Perseus Cluster of Galaxies.
Wild-looking at visible wavelengths, the active galaxy is also a
prodigious source of
x-rays
and
radio
emission.
NGC 1275 accretes
matter as entire galaxies fall into it, ultimately
feeding a supermassive black hole at the galaxy's core.
This color composite image, recreated from
archival Hubble Space Telescope
data, highlights the resulting galactic debris
and filaments of glowing gas,
some up to 20,000 light-years long.
The filaments persist in NGC 1275, even though
the turmoil of galactic collisions should destroy them.
What keeps the filaments together?
Observations
indicate that the structures, pushed out
from the galaxy's center by the black hole's activity, are
held together by magnetic fields.
Also known as Perseus A,
NGC 1275
spans over 100,000 light years and
lies about 230 million light years away.
APOD: 2011 July 12 - The Perseus Cluster of Galaxies
Explanation:
Here is one of the
largest objects that anyone will ever see on the sky.
Each of these fuzzy blobs is a galaxy, together making up the
Perseus Cluster, one of the closest
clusters of galaxies.
The cluster is seen through a foreground of faint stars in our own
Milky Way Galaxy.
Near the cluster center, roughly 250 million light-years
away, is the cluster's dominant galaxy NGC 1275,
seen above as a large galaxy on the image left.
A prodigious source of
x-rays and radio emission,
NGC 1275 accretes
matter as gas and galaxies fall into it.
The Perseus Cluster of Galaxies, also cataloged as Abell 426,
is part of the Pisces-Perseus supercluster
spanning over 15 degrees and containing over 1,000 galaxies.
At the distance of NGC 1275, this view covers about 15 million
light-years.
APOD: 2010 June 4 - Hubble Remix: Active Galaxy NGC 1275
Explanation:
Active
galaxy NGC 1275 is the central, dominant member of the large and
relatively nearby
Perseus Cluster of Galaxies.
Wild-looking at visible wavelengths, the active galaxy is also a
prodigious source of
x-rays
and
radio
emission.
NGC 1275 accretes
matter as entire galaxies fall into it, ultimately
feeding a supermassive black hole at the galaxy's core.
This color composite image, recreated from
archival Hubble Space Telescope data,
highlights the resulting galactic debris
and filaments of glowing gas,
some up to 20,000 light-years long.
The filaments persist in NGC 1275, even though
the turmoil of galactic collisions should destroy them.
What keeps the filaments together?
Observations
indicate that the structures, pushed out
from the galaxy's center by the black hole's activity, are
held together by magnetic fields.
Also known as Perseus A,
NGC 1275
spans over 100,000 light years and
lies about 230 million light years away.
APOD: 2009 May 8 - Galaxies of the Perseus Cluster
Explanation:
This colorful
telescopic skyscape is filled with galaxies that
lie nearly 250 million light-years away, the galaxies of
the Perseus cluster.
Their extended and sometimes surprising shapes are seen beyond a
veil of foreground stars in our own Milky Way.
Ultimately consisting of over a thousand galaxies,
the
cluster is filled with yellowish
elliptical and
lenticular galaxies,
like those scattered throughout this view of the cluster's
central region.
Notably, the large galaxy
at the
left is the massive and
bizarre-looking NGC 1275.
A prodigious source of high-energy emission,
active galaxy NGC 1275
dominates the Perseus cluster, accreting matter as entire galaxies
fall into it and feed
the supermassive black hole at the galaxy's core.
Of course, spiral galaxies also inhabit
the Perseus cluster, including the small, face-on spiral
NGC
1268, right of picture center.
The bluish spot on the outskirts of NGC 1268 is supernova SN 2008fg.
At the estimated distance of the Perseus galaxy cluster, this field
spans about 1.5 million light-years.
APOD: 2008 August 22 - Active Galaxy NGC 1275
Explanation:
Active galaxy NGC 1275
is the central, dominant member of the large and
relatively nearby
Perseus Cluster of Galaxies.
A prodigious source of
x-rays
and
radio
emission, NGC 1275 accretes
matter as entire galaxies fall into it, ultimately
feeding a supermassive black hole at the galaxy's core.
This stunning
visible
light image from the Hubble Space Telescope
shows galactic debris
and filaments of glowing gas,
some up to 20,000 light-years long.
The filaments persist in NGC 1275, even though
the turmoil of galactic collisions should destroy them.
What keeps the filaments together?
Recent work
indicates that the structures, pushed out
from the galaxy's center by the black hole's activity, are
held together by magnetic fields.
To
add x-ray data
from the Chandra Observatory and radio data from
the Very Large Array
to the Hubble image, just slide
your cursor over the picture.
In the resulting composite, x-rays highlight the
shells of hot gas
surrounding the center of the galaxy, with radio emission filling
giant bubble-shaped cavities.
Also known as Perseus A,
NGC 1275
spans over 100,000 light years and
lies about 230 million light years away.
APOD: 2008 May 20 - The Perseus Cluster of Galaxies
Explanation:
Here is one of the
largest objects that anyone will ever see on the sky.
Each of these fuzzy blobs is a galaxy, together making up the
Perseus Cluster, one of the closest
clusters
of galaxies.
The cluster is seen through a foreground of faint stars in our own
Milky Way Galaxy.
Near the cluster center, roughly 250 million light-years
away, is the cluster's dominant galaxy NGC 1275,
seen above as the large galaxy on the image left.
A prodigious source of
x-rays and radio emission,
NGC 1275 accretes
matter as gas and galaxies fall into it.
The Perseus Cluster of Galaxies
is part of the Pisces-Perseus supercluster
spanning over 15 degrees and containing over 1,000 galaxies.
At the distance of NGC 1275, this view covers about 7.5 million
light-years.
APOD: 2005 December 30 - The Perseus Cluster of Galaxies
Explanation:
Here is one of the
largest objects that anyone will
ever see on the sky.
Each of these fuzzy blobs is a galaxy, together making up the
Perseus Cluster, one of the closest
clusters
of galaxies.
The cluster is seen through a foreground of faint stars in our own
Milky Way Galaxy.
Near the cluster center, roughly 250 million light-years
away, is the cluster's dominant galaxy NGC 1275,
seen
here just left of picture center.
A prodigious source of
x-rays and radio emission,
NGC 1275 accretes
matter as gas and galaxies fall into it.
The Perseus Cluster of Galaxies
is part of the
Pisces-Perseus supercluster
spanning over 15 degrees and containing over 1,000 galaxies.
At the distance of NGC 1275, this view covers about 1.5 million
light-years.
APOD: 2005 December 8 - X-Rays from the Perseus Cluster Core
Explanation:
The Perseus Cluster of thousands of galaxies,
250 million light-years distant, is
one of
the most massive objects
in
the Universe and the brightest galaxy cluster in the
x-ray sky.
At its core lies the giant
cannibal galaxy Perseus A
(NGC
1275), accreting matter as
gas and galaxies fall into it.
This deep
Chandra Observatory x-ray image spans about 300,000 light-years
across the galaxy cluster core.
It shows
remarkable details
of x-ray emission from the monster galaxy and
surrounding hot (30-70 million degrees C) cluster gas.
The bright central source is the supermassive
black
hole at the core of Perseus A itself.
Low density regions are seen as dark bubbles or voids,
believed to be generated by cyclic outbursts of activity
from the central black hole.
The activity creates pressure waves -
sound waves on a cosmic scale-
that ripple through the x-ray hot gas.
Dramatically, the blue-green wisps just above centre in the
false-color view are likely x-ray shadows of
the remains of a small galaxy falling into the burgeoning
Perseus A.
APOD: 2005 July 25 - Unusual Gas Filaments Surround Galaxy NGC 1275
Explanation:
How were the unusual gas filaments surrounding galaxy NGC 1275 created?
No one is sure. Galaxy NGC 1275 is the
central dominant galaxy of the
Perseus Cluster of Galaxies,
a cluster with many member galaxies visible in the above image.
In visible light, NGC 1275 appears to show a
spectacular collision between two distinct galaxies.
The galaxy and cluster are also bright emitters of
X-rays.
The unusual gas filaments are shown above in a very
specific color of light emitted by
hydrogen, here artificially colored pink.
Possible origins for the filaments may involve details of the collision between the two galaxies, or alternatively, interactions between a
galactic center black hole and the surrounding
intracluster gas.
NGC 1275,
pictured above, spans about 100,000
light years and lies about 230 million light years distant toward the
constellation of Perseus.
APOD: 2004 October 25 - The Perseus Cluster of Galaxies
Explanation:
Here is one of the largest objects that anyone will ever see on the sky.
Each of the fuzzy blobs in the
above picture is a galaxy, together making up the
Perseus Cluster, one of the closest
clusters of galaxies.
The cluster is seen through the foreground of faint stars in our own
Milky Way Galaxy.
It takes light roughly 300 million years to get here
from this region of the Universe, so we see this
cluster as it existed before the age of the
dinosaurs.
Also known as Abell 426, the center of the
Perseus Cluster is a prodigious source of
X-ray radiation, and so helps astronomers explore
how clusters formed and how gas and
dark matter interact.
The Perseus Cluster of Galaxies is part of the
Pisces-Perseus supercluster of galaxies, which spans over
15 degrees and contains over 1000 galaxies.
APOD: 2003 September 12 - A Note on the Perseus Cluster
Explanation:
A truly enormous collection of thousands of galaxies, the
Perseus Cluster - like other
large galaxy clusters - is
filled with hot, x-ray emitting gas.
The x-ray hot gas
(not the individual galaxies) appears
in the left panel above, a false color
image
from the Chandra Observatory.
The bright central source flanked by two
dark cavities is
the cluster's supermassive black hole.
At right, the panel shows the
x-ray image
data specially processed
to enhance contrasts and reveals a strikingly regular
pattern of pressure waves
rippling through
the hot gas.
In other words,
sound
waves, likely generated by bursts of
activity from the black hole, are ringing through the
Perseus Galaxy Cluster.
Astronomers infer that these previously unknown sound waves are a
source of energy which keeps the cluster gas so hot.
So what note is the Perseus Cluster playing?
Estimates of the distance between the wave peaks and sound speed
in the cluster gas suggests
the cosmic note is about 57 octaves below B-flat above middle C.
APOD: 2003 May 5 - NGC 1275: A Galactic Collision
Explanation:
In NGC 1275, one galaxy is slicing through another.
The disk of the
dusty
spiral galaxy
near the image center is cutting through a large
elliptical galaxy,
visible predominantly on the lower left.
Galaxies can change significantly during a
collision like this, with
gravitational tides
distorting each galaxy and
gas clouds being
compressed and lighting up with new
star formation.
Galaxy collisions
occur in slow motion to the
human eye, with a single pass taking as much as 100 million years.
NGC 1275 is a member of the
Perseus cluster of galaxies
that lies about 230 million light years away toward the constellation of
Perseus.
Each galaxy spans about 50,000 light years across.
The above picture is a composite of
images taken by the
Hubble Space Telescope in 1995 and 2001.
APOD: 2000 October 31 - The Perseus Cluster s X Ray Skull
Explanation:
This haunting image from the orbiting
Chandra Observatory
reveals the Perseus Cluster of Galaxies
in x-rays,
photons with a thousand or more times the energy of visible light.
Three hundred twenty million light-years distant, the
Perseus Cluster
contains thousands of galaxies, but none of them are
seen here.
Instead of mere galaxies, a fifty million degree cloud of
intracluster gas, itself more
massive than all the cluster's galaxies
combined, dominates the x-ray view.
From this angle, voids and bright knots in the
x-ray hot gas cloud lend it a very
suggestive appearance.
Like eyes in a skull, two dark bubbles flank a bright central source
of x-ray emission.
A third elongated bubble (at about 5 o'clock) forms a toothless mouth.
The bright x-ray source is likely a supermassive black hole at the
cluster center with the bubbles blown by explosions of
energetic particles ejected from the black hole and expanding into
the immense gas cloud.
Fittingly, the dark spot forming the skull's "nose" is an
x-ray shadow ... the shadow of a large galaxy inexorably falling into
the cluster center.
Over a hundred thousand light-years across, the Perseus Cluster's
x-ray skull is a bit larger than skulls you
may see tonight.
Have a safe and happy Halloween!
APOD: 2000 June 15 - X-Rays From The Perseus Cluster Core
Explanation:
The Perseus Cluster
of thousands of galaxies, 320 million
light-years distant, is
one of
the most massive objects
in
the Universe.
At its core lies the giant cannibal galaxy
Perseus A
(NGC 1275), accreting matter as
gas and galaxies fall into it.
Representing low, medium, and high energy
x-rays as red, green,
and blue colours respectively,
this Chandra X-ray Observatory image
shows remarkable details of x-ray emission from this monster galaxy and
surrounding hot (30-70 million degrees C)
cluster gas.
The bright central source is the supermassive
black
hole at the core of Perseus A itself.
Dark circular voids just above and below the galaxy center,
each about half the size of our own
Milky Way Galaxy,
are believed to be magnetic bubbles of
energetic particles
blown by the accreting black hole.
Settling
toward
Perseus A, the cluster's x-ray hot gas piles up
forming bright regions around the bubble rims.
Dramatically, the long greenish wisp just above the galaxy's centre
is likely the x-ray shadow produced by
a small galaxy falling into the burgeoning
Perseus A.
APOD: August 15, 1998 - The Perseus Cluster of Galaxies
Explanation:
Here is one of
the largest objects that anyone will ever see on the sky.
Each of the fuzzy blobs in the above picture is a galaxy, together
making up the Perseus Cluster, one of the closest
clusters of galaxies.
We view the cluster through the foreground of faint stars in our own
Milky Way Galaxy.
It takes light roughly 300 million years to get here
from this region of
the Universe, so we
see this cluster as it existed before
the age of the dinosaurs.
Also known as
Abell 426, the center of the Perseus Cluster
is a prodigious source of
X-ray radiation, and so helps
astronomers explore
how clusters formed and
how gas and
dark matter interact.
The Perseus Cluster of Galaxies is part of the
Pisces-Perseus
supercluster of galaxies,
which spans over 15 degrees and contains over 1000
galaxies.
APOD: April 26, 1997 - The Perseus Cluster of Galaxies
Explanation: Here is one of the largest objects that anyone
will ever see on the sky. Each of the fuzzy blobs in the above
picture is a galaxy, together making
up the Perseus Cluster,
one of the closest clusters of galaxies.
We view the cluster through the foreground of faint stars in our
own Milky Way Galaxy. It takes light
roughly 300 million years to get here from there, so we only see
this cluster as it existed during the age of the dinosaurs. Also
known as Abell 426, the center of Perseus cluster is a prodigious
source of X-ray radiation, and so
helps astronomers study how clusters formed and how gas
and dark matter
interact. The Perseus Cluster of Galaxies is part of the Pisces-Perseus supercluster
of galaxies, which spans over 15 degrees and contains over 1000
galaxies.
APOD: April 5, 1996 - The Perseus Cluster of Galaxies
Explanation:
Here is one of the largest objects that anyone will ever see on the
sky. Each of the fuzzy blobs in the above picture is a
galaxy, together making up the Perseus Cluster,
one of the closest
clusters
of galaxies.
We view the cluster through the foreground of faint stars in our own
Milky Way galaxy.
It takes light roughly 300 million years to get here from there, so we only
see this cluster as it existed during the age of the dinosaurs. Also known
as Abell 426, the center of Perseus cluster is a prodigious
source of X-ray radiation,
and so helps us study how
clusters formed and how
gas and
dark
matter interact.
The Perseus Cluster of Galaxies is part of the Pisces-Perseus supercluster
of galaxies, which spans over 15 degrees and contains over 1000 galaxies.