Hubble Space Telescope | Armchair Astrophysics: Finding Physics Far and Wide @hubblespacetelescope | Uploaded August 2020 | Updated October 2024, 21 hours ago.
Quyen Hart, Space Telescope Science Institute
What do echoes, bubbles, and fireworks have to do with astrophysics? What do highway traffic jams and galaxy spiral arms have in common? Some of your everyday experiences can be explained using some basic physics concepts, and some of our cosmic observations have analogues in what we see around us. The laws of physics are universal, so astronomers apply our understanding of physics here on Earth to everything in the universe. Join us to explore the physics of familiar phenomena and to learn where the same physics is working 'out there' in the cosmos. Armchairs are not required, but highly recommended.
Host: Frank Summers, Space Telescope Science Institute
Recorded live on Tuesday, August 4, 2020
More information: www.stsci.edu/public-lectures
Quyen Hart, Space Telescope Science Institute
What do echoes, bubbles, and fireworks have to do with astrophysics? What do highway traffic jams and galaxy spiral arms have in common? Some of your everyday experiences can be explained using some basic physics concepts, and some of our cosmic observations have analogues in what we see around us. The laws of physics are universal, so astronomers apply our understanding of physics here on Earth to everything in the universe. Join us to explore the physics of familiar phenomena and to learn where the same physics is working 'out there' in the cosmos. Armchairs are not required, but highly recommended.
Host: Frank Summers, Space Telescope Science Institute
Recorded live on Tuesday, August 4, 2020
More information: www.stsci.edu/public-lectures
![The Whirlpool Galaxy: Visible and X-ray Views [UltraHD]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/u8jGr2WSFD8/hqdefault.jpg "The Whirlpool Galaxy: Visible and X-ray Views [UltraHD]
This sequence uses visible (Hubble) and X-ray (Chandra) imagery to highlight different structures within the Whirlpool galaxy (Messier 51). As seen in visible light, the familiar whirlpool shape is traced out by glowing spiral arms. These arms are composed of billions of stars orbiting about the center of the galaxy over millions of years. The pink color is from hot hydrogen gas that permeates the galaxy and indicates sites of new star formation. Silhouetted in the bright arms are dark lanes of obscuring dust that blocks visible light. The stars farther away from the center orbit more slowly and fall behind, creating the signature spiral winding arm. A massive black hole lies at the galaxy’s center. The black hole can’t be seen directly, but its presence is hinted at by the dense star clusters at the center. A second smaller spiral galaxy can be seen in the upper-right portion of the image. The second image shows the X-ray view, highlighting the very hottest gas at millions of degrees Fahrenheit. The X-rays most closely match the visible pink hot gas in active star-forming regions and are particularly strong near the galactic centers of both galaxies. X-rays are also penetrating obscuring dust.
Video: NASA, ESA, and G. Bacon (STScI)
Image: NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team (STScI)")
