Andrew Yee[_1_]
January 11th 08, 02:41 AM
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
P.O. Box O
Socorro, NM 87801
http://www.nrao.edu
Contact:
Dave Finley, Public Information Officer
(505) 835-7302
EMBARGOED For Release: 9:30 a.m., CST, Thursday, January 10, 2008
IMAGE RELEASE: New Hydrogen Clouds in the M81 Group of Galaxies
[http://www.nrao.edu/pr/2008/m81clouds/]
A composite radio-optical image shows five new clouds of hydrogen gas
discovered using the National Science Foundation's Robert C. Byrd Green Bank
Telescope (GBT). The spiral galaxy M81 and its satellite, M82, are seen in
visible light (white); intergalactic hydrogen gas revealed by the GBT is
shown in red; and additional hydrogen gas earlier detected by the Very Large
Array is shown in green.
The M81 Group of galaxies, 11.8 million light-years from Earth, are
interacting gravitationally with each other, as shown clearly by the gas
streaming among them. The newly-discovered gas clouds, each containing from
14 to 57 million times the mass of our Sun, are similar to gas clouds also
found near our own Milky Way Galaxy. Astronomers analyzing these M81 Group
clouds conclude that they are likely remnants of earlier interactions among
the galaxies and that this indicates that their analogs near the Milky Way
had a similar origin.
The research team is: Katie Chynoweth, a graduate student at Vanderbilt
University; Glen Langston of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory
(NRAO); Min Yun of the University of Massachusetts; Felix J. Lockman of
NRAO; Kate Rubin of Lick Observatory; and Sarah Scoles of Cornell
University. The astronomers presented their findings to the American
Astronomical Society's meeting in Austin, Texas.
Credit: Chynoweth et al., NRAO/AUI/NSF, Digital Sky Survey.
The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National
Science Foundation, operated under cooperative agreement by Associated
Universities, Inc.
P.O. Box O
Socorro, NM 87801
http://www.nrao.edu
Contact:
Dave Finley, Public Information Officer
(505) 835-7302
EMBARGOED For Release: 9:30 a.m., CST, Thursday, January 10, 2008
IMAGE RELEASE: New Hydrogen Clouds in the M81 Group of Galaxies
[http://www.nrao.edu/pr/2008/m81clouds/]
A composite radio-optical image shows five new clouds of hydrogen gas
discovered using the National Science Foundation's Robert C. Byrd Green Bank
Telescope (GBT). The spiral galaxy M81 and its satellite, M82, are seen in
visible light (white); intergalactic hydrogen gas revealed by the GBT is
shown in red; and additional hydrogen gas earlier detected by the Very Large
Array is shown in green.
The M81 Group of galaxies, 11.8 million light-years from Earth, are
interacting gravitationally with each other, as shown clearly by the gas
streaming among them. The newly-discovered gas clouds, each containing from
14 to 57 million times the mass of our Sun, are similar to gas clouds also
found near our own Milky Way Galaxy. Astronomers analyzing these M81 Group
clouds conclude that they are likely remnants of earlier interactions among
the galaxies and that this indicates that their analogs near the Milky Way
had a similar origin.
The research team is: Katie Chynoweth, a graduate student at Vanderbilt
University; Glen Langston of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory
(NRAO); Min Yun of the University of Massachusetts; Felix J. Lockman of
NRAO; Kate Rubin of Lick Observatory; and Sarah Scoles of Cornell
University. The astronomers presented their findings to the American
Astronomical Society's meeting in Austin, Texas.
Credit: Chynoweth et al., NRAO/AUI/NSF, Digital Sky Survey.
The National Radio Astronomy Observatory is a facility of the National
Science Foundation, operated under cooperative agreement by Associated
Universities, Inc.