Astronomers have a new name for these sorts of flares from supermassive black holes in distant galaxies: they’re calling them quasi-periodic eruptions. “Giant black holes regularly flicker like a candle but the rapid, repeating changes seen in GSN 069 from December onwards are something completely new,” said one scientist. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/unexpected-periodic-flares-from-distant-galaxys-black-hole…
Tag: Galactic
Scientists detect towering balloon-like feature near Milky Way’s center
It’s a huge bipolar structure, centered on the galactic center and near the central supermassive black hole. In that way, it’s like the Fermi Bubbles, found some years ago. But … there are differences. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/balloon-like-feature-near-milky-way-center…
Goddard creates CGI moon kit as a form of visual storytelling
A new NASA out-of-this-world animation allows humanity to experience their closest galactic neighbor as never before through an online “CGI moon kit.” Source: https://phys.org/news/2019-09-goddard-cgi-moon-kit-visual.html…
Word of the week: Electromagnetic spectrum
The electromagnetic spectrum describes all the wavelengths of light, both seen and unseen. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/what-is-the-electromagnetic-spectrum…
The Teapot, and the galaxy’s center
The center of our Milky Way galaxy is located in the direction of the constellation Sagittarius with its famous Teapot asterism. This is a good time of year to look for it. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/gaze-toward-galactic-center…
Gaia tracks sibling stars in Milky Way
Rather than leaving home young, as expected, star siblings are more likely to stick together in long-lasting, string-like star groups, according to a new study of data from ESA’s Gaia spacecraft. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/gaia-tracks-sibling-stars-in-milky-way…
Mrk 1498 hosts a young and obscured AGN, study finds
An international team of astronomers has found that the giant radio galaxy (GRG) Mrk 1498 has a more complex nuclear structure than previously thought. By analyzing multi-wavelength observations of Mrk 1498, a young and obscured active galactic nucleus (AGN) has been identified in the center of this galaxy. The study is detailed in a paper published August 16 on arXiv.org. Source:…
Disney World Plans Two-Day, Stars Wars-Themed Simulated Space Cruises
This weekend Disney revealed more details about Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, a cruise-like experience which promises “a two-night, all-immersive adventure,” inviting visitors to “live your very own epic Star Wars story.” Gizmodo reports: Like a cruise ship, everyone boards at once and everyone leaves at once. How that works though is, you arrive to a special terminal in Orlando to check…
Find the Teapot, and look toward the galaxy’s center
With the moon waning now, it’s time to go out in the country to witness the glorious Milky Way. Want to locate the direction to the galaxy’s center? This post points the way. Source: https://earthsky.org/favorite-star-patterns/teapot-of-sagittarius-points-to-galactic-center…
Summer Triangle on August evenings
The Summer Triangle is a fixture of our skies at this time of year. Its 3 stars are Vega, Deneb and Altair. Source: https://earthsky.org/tonight/summer-triangle-high-overhead-at-mid-to-late-evening…