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| Wise has been able to see objects not visible to past science instruments |
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A space
telescope has added to its list of spectacular finds, spotting millions of
supermassive black holes and blisteringly hot, "extreme" galaxies.
The finds,
by US space agency Nasa's Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (Wise), once lay
obscured behind dust.
But Wise
can see in wavelengths correlated with heat, seeing for the first time some of
the brightest objects in the Universe.
The haul
will help astronomers work out how galaxies and black holes form.
It is known
that most large galaxies host black holes at their centres, sometimes feeding
on nearby gas, dust and stars and sometimes spraying out enough energy to halt
star formation altogether.
How the two
evolve together has remained a mystery, and the Wise data are already yielding
some surprises.
Wise gives
astronomers what is currently a unique view on the cosmos, looking at
wavelengths of light far beyond those we can see but giving information that we
cannot get from wavelengths we can.
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Black holes
These are regions of space where gravity is
so powerful that not even light can escape
One way they can form is when huge stars
collapse in on themselves
So-called supermassive black holes sit at the
centres of galaxies, including the Milky Way
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Among its
other discoveries, in 2011 Wise spotted in a "Trojan" asteroid aheadof the Earth in its orbit.
But with
the latest results, Wise has come into its own as an unparalleled black hole
hunter.
"We've
got the black holes cornered," said Daniel Stern of Nasa's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory (JPL), lead author of one of the three studies presented on
Wednesday.
Dr Stern
and his colleagues used the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (Nustar)
space telescope to examine the X-rays coming out of the black hole candidates
spotted by Wise, presenting their findings in a paper to appear in Astrophysical Journal.
"Wise
is finding them across the full sky, while Nustar is giving us an entirely new
look at their high-energy X-ray light and learning what makes them tick,"
he said.
The other
two studies presented - one already published in Astrophysical journal and
another yet to appear - focussed on extremely hot, bright galaxies that have
until now remained hidden: hot dust-obscured galaxies, or hot-Dogs.
There are
so far about 1,000 candidate galaxies, some of which can out-shine our Sun by a
factor of 100 trillion.
"These
dusty, cataclysmically forming galaxies are so rare Wise had to scan the entire
sky to find them," said Peter Eisenhardt of JPL, lead author of the paper
describing Wise's first hot-Dog find.
"We
are also seeing evidence that these record-setters may have formed their black
holes before the bulk of their stars. The 'eggs' may have come before
the 'chickens'."
The data
from the Wise mission are made publicly available so that scientists outside
the collaboration can also carry out their own studies, so the future will hold
a wealth of studies from these extreme and otherwise hidden corners of the
Universe.
"Spiritual Logic" - Oct 15, 2011 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll)
(Subjects: Benevolent Design, Channelling, Holy scriptures, Higher self, (Old) Souls, Universes, Big Bang, Galaxy/Solar system build for life, Astronomy, Life on Earth tried to start 5 times/ 5th time life started, Large Animals/No Humans, Asteroid belt, 7 Sisters / 100.000 year ago Pleiadian Brothers and Sisters seeded Humans on earth, DNA, Humans Ascensiont with Pleiadian DNA, Lemuria (Hawaii),21-12-2012, 26.000 years cycle, 1987 - Harmonic convergence (11:11), Shift of Human Consciousness, Gaia, The Humanization of God, 1991 Russia falls, 1994 started 36 years galactic window (Presession), Mid point on 21-12-2012, Lemuria (Hawaii) center of the Earth time, Love (Mother & Child), Religion, Higher self, Global Unity,..... etc.)
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