ANDROMEDA ALIVE
BIGMASS
Haze
drifting
all around and
above hides many features
except for obvious super massive size
The image
swells beyond
the picture frame
when enhanced, there is
that much mass missing in the
interpreted original photo which
has missed showing most of all of
the wide mass outreaches extending
well out in all visible directions,
also, vertical layers of energy
drifts in strata similar to
layers of shale in open
escarpments expand
the mass by
tenfold
3D - IN YOUR FACE
Focus
two images
together to form a
third "virtual' image in
between (virtual because the third
image does not really exist). The result will
be a stereo view (3D). Rays from the left side of the
image hitting the right side, and from the upper left corner
hitting the lower right corner, and visa versa, import an
extremely subtle high frequency hologram in the image
too sublte to be discerned by the normal eye until
two images are superimposed to unlock the
hologram, resulting in 3D
How to see 3D
There
are three
ways 3D can be
viewed. Gently going
cross eyed. Letting the eyes
drift out of focus as when viewing a
stereogram. If either is too uncomfortable,
two magnifying glasses of 4 1/2 inch diameter can
be held up side by side and moved in and out until a
third 'virtual' 3D view appears in an oval which forms
between the two glasses. You need to be much farther
back to do this then when normally positioned
in using a single magnifying glass
BI-LATERAL SYMMETRY - ONE SIDE OF THE CORE
FLARES UP, THE OTHER SIDE CURLS DOWN
THE CORE OF NGC 5236
When
these two
images are focused
together they will be in stereo.
Instantly seen will be symmetry,
where one side of the core flares up, the
other curls down. To one degree or
another, bi-lateral symmetry
is found in every galaxy
THE CORE OF ANDROMEDA - A CASE IN POINT
No
one has
seen the Andromeda
core since it is a flattened
oblong laying in a canted angle aimed
rearward in a depression like an egg settled
in a nest, the core itself canted at a sharp angle
its main slope cammed turned toward us, the cam due
to a different angular momentum itself than in the
immediate arm swirls surrounding, the result a
slow turning out of synch of the core to
the rest of the galaxy. In fact
two slow motions are
involved: that
which cams
the core
toward us,
and that which
is causing the end
to settle in the socket
The cam
is not the
point. The point
is that one side of the
core flares up, the other curls
down. In Andromeda the upcurl is actually
from the lower (west) end of the core settled down
in the socket. How is this known? A picture which has
been around for a long time, when enhanced properly,
it instantly reveals the core's bi-lateral
S-shaped
symmetry. The s-shape is a standard form seen
in galaxies in general, nothing
unusual here. The
enhancement
occurs
in the blink of
an eye simply by adjusting
the original image with histogram equalize
Very important image
NIAGRA FALLS VERTICAL CORE DROP IN ANDROMEDA
The
niagra
falls vertical
escarpment drop in Andromeda
is particularly well advanced,
particularly
easily seen. The bottom end of the falls is deeply
indented into the core seat. The vertical rise
itself is slightly canted (turned)
on a vertical axis
A fish's
eyeball rotated
to maximum. Large gush
seen from the top of the falls
curling right is very familiar. Galaxies
such as Ngc 2997, and
M100 (in long distance
views) have broad bulging sweeps from
their nuclear cores
In the
original,
the core face
can be seen to drop
down a vertical slope (like
Niagra Falls). This is correct. A
vertical drop down a steep slope is often
found in galaxy cores viewed in 3D. In
Andromeda's
case the question is this is image of such poor
quality it
hardly counts as astronomy. None the less it seems the
only image around able to show the nuclear core. The
problem is that Andromeda's core is so intensly
bright, relative to the whole rest of the
poor radiating galaxy, that the core
invariably shows as a hot globe
glowing no matter how much
the core's light was down
filtered, and astronomers
accept this. Here with this
image is a unique opportunity to
see more of the core, and its surrounding
s-shape configuration. The image was very early when
pros new little the real look of Andromeda and this one
was the best to be had at that time. It's capture of
slow radiant photons gives us a unique view
into the Andromeda interior
The
above
Adromeda core
images are repeated in context here
CORE RODS CAUSED BY MIGRATING CORES?
Core rods.
Spike sticks out in
Andromeda, core rod in Centarus A,
might be caused by cores being dragged out of
a galaxy by another galaxy. In the case of Andromeda
the stolen core could be from M110 in which case it would
be appropriate to assume the 'spike stiking out' shows
the path of M110 passing under the soil along the
right side of the large core bole, entering from
the backside of Andromeda. In the case
of Centaurus A the core seems to
have migrated to a current
position just below
the surface near
the right end
of the crack.
In both examples
the core rod might be
residues of heavier material
dragged along through the shells of
the original galaxies whose cores migrated.
I do not know if it is possible or revealing but my
curiousity suggests spectroscopally inspecting core rods
if heavier elements in unusual abundance it would definately
suggest the heavier elements were deposited in a rod
(straight line) by the drag of a fast moving
migrating core. At least, so says
my curiousity
In Andromeda the core rod is a thin spike sticking out
The
elbow tower
jutting up in the
midst of the right wing
is unfamiliar. It looks to be
perhaps a volcanic arm but this
one is up through the dish not out the
side as elbow arms usually are
secondly, the tower does
not appear clear in
most Andromeda
images
WHERE M110 CUT A CUURVED SWATH THROUGH ANDROMEDA
In fact,
you can see the
curved track as plain as
day, starting in the rear a rent
at the rim to the right of where the
oblong core extends to the rear, the
curved path sweeping in, glancing
past the right side of the
core, and sailing out
into the open in
foreground
space,
the curve
a continuous even
uninterrupted arc. Now, I have
to firmly tell you how often the brain can work
slow - for over four years I have been viewing zoomed
closeups like this immediately above and today (four years later
Monday Sept 18/2001 11:40 AM Ottawa time) is the first
ever time I now see the C U R V E which identifies
the glide path of M110. The brain works slow,
some days, some years. I always try
keeping the brain well oiled.
But...
THE CORE OF ANDROMEDA - THE S-SHAPE
So
you see,
there are two
s-shapes. Bi-lateral
symmetry acts twice: the
Niagra falls effect clearly
the bottom shooting out and up,
the top pouring over and curling
down, and around the sides the
rear sweeping up and away,
the near sweeping dn and
around in the opposite
direction. Plenty of
properties to see
in one throw
away image
Click
here
to see movie showing hot points of light in the
middle of Andromeda's double nucleus core
Andromeda's double core - two black holes in speculation.
A sizeable sinkhole spotted in the lower left - cause unknown
The
smaller
core (to the
rear) is actually
the more energetic, it's
counter intuitive smallness due
to intervening dust and clutter between
the black hole at the rear vrs the second
(larger) black hole more toward us
closer to the camera
If the
yellow halos
are appearing correctly
(not imager processing hunk from
Hubble headquarters) the two halos are
joined by a sweeping arc from the larger
(forground) back into the rear halo
(smaller) the curve a classic
sci fi accretian disk
image which in
this case is real,
where two nuclear black
holes are visibly inter-twined. At
the borderline of perception is the following: in
'virtual' stereo, the forward larger hoves backward at a
tilted angle it's lower edge jutting toward us. From behind at
the upper left, the yellow accretion tether winds around going
backward to approach the smaller object from the rear, coming
forward to join the smaller behind its left side. To see
the wind in the accretian tether requires diligent
focusing and ideal viewing conditions (glare
right on screen from lights will
spoil, dark room is best)
SUPERIMPOSURE - IMPORTANT ASTRONOMY TOOL
ANDROMEDA IS A WIDE OPEN SPIRAL - yet warped and heaved like a flapjack
waffling through the air
It is
remarkable
that superimposing
two images together by
focusing with eyesight can
transform an image into a whole
new perspective. Two images combined,
positively re-enforce to sharply increase
clearity of details and features not normally
recognized in just one frame. There cannot be
a better way to examine astronomy images
than by superimposures
Andromeda is a wide open spiral.
It is not a fluke kinked in mid swim in
liver juices as all images of Andromeda suggest due
to its lay and plane in space relative to us where we see
Andromeda somewhat at an oblique angle more on edge.
The top of Andromeda is a vortex open to space,
underneath are large accumulations of dim
diffuse matter when revealed show
Andromeda is somewhat like
the crown on top of
a wisdom tooth
the lower
portion
a kind of
pedestal on top
of which the most visible
whorls (crown) are wide open to outer space
HORIZONTAL VISTA VIEW ACROSS ANDROMEDA'S CENTER PORTION
From
2 other
versions the
wide horizontal
expanse to the rear
rim is even wider in 3D
THE SPIKE STICKING OUT
The spike sticking out. We may be fortunate
in being able to
see the polar pole sticking out from under Andromeda's upper
rim. It is Andromeda's chance alignment and tilt in space
which makes us so fortunate as to actually see one of
this galaxy's centercore poles. If Andromeda was
tilted forward to be more of a standard
spiral spreading out in the round
the upper rim would overcover
the short spike and we would
never see it or know it was
there. If Andromeda was
tilted further back to
be more edge-on, the
short pole would
seem nothing
more than
a tiny
doodad
festooning
the side of the rim,
a tiny hot little pimple of
no more significance than that, such
'tinies' festoon' the sides in the rims of
many edge-on galaxies you can see. So, with Andromeda,
we are lucky, because now we know there are poles that
run through the core. Also suspect, since it runs in
parallel flanking the right core-edge, that the
complimentary opposite pole (unseen at the
rear) will be running the left
edge of the core
LOOKING FOR THE OTHER CORE POLE
Composite
helps to see.
The colored portion
is exactly matched where
inserted. The intension was to
see what attribute on the far rear
side in deep space might associate with
the spike sticking out in the foreground from
under the rim. Nothing can be seen, except,
where the foam spews out and begins to
wind around the rear flank to the
right is about just right for
the oppositive pole to the
spike, in that the foam
rises from the left
side of the core,
fact of the
foam in
the first
place a sign
that an adventure
is going on at the back
down below underneath the rim,
associated with the core dynamics
|
ANDROMEDA ALIVE
|
|---|
The image
swells beyond
the picture frame
when enhanced, there is
that much mass missing in the
interpreted original photo which
has missed showing most of all of
the wide mass outreaches extending
well out in all visible directions,
also, vertical layers of energy
drifts in strata similar to
layers of shale in open
escarpments expand
the mass by
tenfold
|
|
|---|
Focus
two images
together to form a
third "virtual' image in
between (virtual because the third
image does not really exist). The result will
be a stereo view (3D). Rays from the left side of the
image hitting the right side, and from the upper left corner
hitting the lower right corner, and visa versa, import an
extremely subtle high frequency hologram in the image
too sublte to be discerned by the normal eye until
two images are superimposed to unlock the
hologram, resulting in 3D
|
|
|---|
There
are three
ways 3D can be
viewed. Gently going
cross eyed. Letting the eyes
drift out of focus as when viewing a
stereogram. If either is too uncomfortable,
two magnifying glasses of 4 1/2 inch diameter can
be held up side by side and moved in and out until a
third 'virtual' 3D view appears in an oval which forms
between the two glasses. You need to be much farther
back to do this then when normally positioned
in using a single magnifying glass
|
|---|
NIAGRA FALLS VERTICAL CORE DROP IN ANDROMEDA
The
niagra
falls vertical
escarpment drop in Andromeda
is particularly well advanced, particularly
easily seen. The bottom end of the falls is deeply
indented into the core seat. The vertical rise
itself is slightly canted (turned)
on a vertical axis
A fish's
eyeball rotated
to maximum. Large gush
seen from the top of the falls
curling right is very familiar. Galaxies
such as Ngc 2997, and M100 (in long distance
views) have broad bulging sweeps from
their nuclear cores
In the
original,
the core face
can be seen to drop
down a vertical slope (like
Niagra Falls). This is correct. A
vertical drop down a steep slope is often
found in galaxy cores viewed in 3D. In Andromeda's
case the question is this is image of such poor quality it
hardly counts as astronomy. None the less it seems the
only image around able to show the nuclear core. The
problem is that Andromeda's core is so intensly
bright, relative to the whole rest of the
poor radiating galaxy, that the core
invariably shows as a hot globe
glowing no matter how much
the core's light was down
filtered, and astronomers
accept this. Here with this
image is a unique opportunity to
see more of the core, and its surrounding
s-shape configuration. The image was very early when
pros new little the real look of Andromeda and this one
was the best to be had at that time. It's capture of
slow radiant photons gives us a unique view
into the Andromeda interior
The
above
Adromeda core
images are repeated in context here
CORE RODS CAUSED BY MIGRATING CORES?
Core rods.
Spike sticks out in
Andromeda, core rod in Centarus A,
might be caused by cores being dragged out of
a galaxy by another galaxy. In the case of Andromeda
the stolen core could be from M110 in which case it would
be appropriate to assume the 'spike stiking out' shows
the path of M110 passing under the soil along the
right side of the large core bole, entering from
the backside of Andromeda. In the case
of Centaurus A the core seems to
have migrated to a current
position just below
the surface near
the right end
of the crack.
In both examples
the core rod might be
residues of heavier material
dragged along through the shells of
the original galaxies whose cores migrated.
I do not know if it is possible or revealing but my
curiousity suggests spectroscopally inspecting core rods
if heavier elements in unusual abundance it would definately
suggest the heavier elements were deposited in a rod
(straight line) by the drag of a fast moving
migrating core. At least, so says
my curiousity
The
elbow tower
jutting up in the
midst of the right wing
is unfamiliar. It looks to be
perhaps a volcanic arm but this
one is up through the dish not out the
side as elbow arms usually are
secondly, the tower does
not appear clear in
most Andromeda
images
WHERE M110 CUT A CUURVED SWATH THROUGH ANDROMEDA
In fact,
you can see the
curved track as plain as
day, starting in the rear a rent
at the rim to the right of where the
oblong core extends to the rear, the
curved path sweeping in, glancing
past the right side of the
core, and sailing out
into the open in
foreground
space,
the curve
a continuous even
uninterrupted arc. Now, I have
to firmly tell you how often the brain can work
slow - for over four years I have been viewing zoomed
closeups like this immediately above and today (four years later
Monday Sept 18/2001 11:40 AM Ottawa time) is the first
ever time I now see the C U R V E which identifies
the glide path of M110. The brain works slow,
some days, some years. I always try
keeping the brain well oiled.
But...
A sizeable sinkhole spotted in the lower left - cause unknown
The
smaller
core (to the
rear) is actually
the more energetic, it's
counter intuitive smallness due
to intervening dust and clutter between
the black hole at the rear vrs the second
(larger) black hole more toward us
closer to the camera
If the
yellow halos
are appearing correctly
(not imager processing hunk from
Hubble headquarters) the two halos are
joined by a sweeping arc from the larger
(forground) back into the rear halo
(smaller) the curve a classic
sci fi accretian disk
image which in
this case is real,
where two nuclear black
holes are visibly inter-twined. At
the borderline of perception is the following: in
'virtual' stereo, the forward larger hoves backward at a
tilted angle it's lower edge jutting toward us. From behind at
the upper left, the yellow accretion tether winds around going
backward to approach the smaller object from the rear, coming
forward to join the smaller behind its left side. To see
the wind in the accretian tether requires diligent
focusing and ideal viewing conditions (glare
right on screen from lights will
spoil, dark room is best)
|
|---|
It is
remarkable
that superimposing
two images together by
focusing with eyesight can
transform an image into a whole
new perspective. Two images combined,
positively re-enforce to sharply increase
clearity of details and features not normally
recognized in just one frame. There cannot be
a better way to examine astronomy images
than by superimposures
Andromeda is a wide open spiral.
It is not a fluke kinked in mid swim in
liver juices as all images of Andromeda suggest due
to its lay and plane in space relative to us where we see
Andromeda somewhat at an oblique angle more on edge.
The top of Andromeda is a vortex open to space,
underneath are large accumulations of dim
diffuse matter when revealed show
Andromeda is somewhat like
the crown on top of
a wisdom tooth
the lower
portion
a kind of
pedestal on top
of which the most visible
whorls (crown) are wide open to outer space
| THE SPIKE STICKING OUT |
|---|
The spike sticking out. We may be fortunate in being able to
see the polar pole sticking out from under Andromeda's upper
rim. It is Andromeda's chance alignment and tilt in space
which makes us so fortunate as to actually see one of
this galaxy's centercore poles. If Andromeda was
tilted forward to be more of a standard
spiral spreading out in the round
the upper rim would overcover
the short spike and we would
never see it or know it was
there. If Andromeda was
tilted further back to
be more edge-on, the
short pole would
seem nothing
more than
a tiny
doodad
festooning
the side of the rim,
a tiny hot little pimple of
no more significance than that, such
'tinies' festoon' the sides in the rims of
many edge-on galaxies you can see. So, with Andromeda,
we are lucky, because now we know there are poles that
run through the core. Also suspect, since it runs in
parallel flanking the right core-edge, that the
complimentary opposite pole (unseen at the
rear) will be running the left
edge of the core
|
|
|---|
Composite
helps to see.
The colored portion
is exactly matched where
inserted. The intension was to
see what attribute on the far rear
side in deep space might associate with
the spike sticking out in the foreground from
under the rim. Nothing can be seen, except,
where the foam spews out and begins to
wind around the rear flank to the
right is about just right for
the oppositive pole to the
spike, in that the foam
rises from the left
side of the core,
fact of the
foam in
the first
place a sign
that an adventure
is going on at the back
down below underneath the rim,
associated with the core dynamics
Click on image for full size
DIPSY DOODLES
Doodads
in the form of
small dipsy doodles festoon
the forward leading (upper) rim, the dispy
doodles above where the 'spike'
sticks out from below the rim-lip
IMAGE 1
Doddles
festoon the
forward rim, rope
twisting orniments dance up
where a spike comes out from just under
the rim where the end of the inner kernal's bore core
extends into outer space like the end of a shaft of a motor
Also,
in IMAGE 1
above, you cannot help
noticing, when viewing the image in 3D, that
Andromeda is a fully evolved whirlpool galaxy, like a pie in
space very wide across (front to rear) as it is from side to side, the
far reaching cross section totally unknown until {A}, the image
is enhanced to produce into view its strong foreground planes
of 'silent' matter, and {B}, the resulting enhancement
is viewed in 3D stereo
A black and
white photogragh
casts a different shadow
on the dispsy doodle doodads, which
are actually there but now seen with scyths
(disks slicing at vertical angle into the rim edge)
the result of either compression - the right side's rotation
faster and catching up with the left side causing sheer like Earth
tectonic plates except this sheer is in fluids not solids, - or,
something has glazed a blow into the rim here causing
commotion, in either case very interesting
thermodynamic instances are visible.
In fact, the compression
notion is supported
by an interpretation
that a jet of faster matter
has burst forward westerly from a
sonic percussive cavity seen as a vertical
opening immediately to the left of the dispsy doodle.
This opening is part of the glide path of M110 identified above
Click here for full size - an Earth satellite streaks across the image
A small barnacle
with a clearly seen spray
of tonging tendril fingers has
attached to the rim, this may be a
'jet' which has lost thrusting
motion and is now captured
in prevailing arm drift
The
bright
clumps along
the outside rim may
be residuals of trashed
small galaxies. The telltale
signature of galaxy capture is
tiny ribs from one of the clumps
reaching down in tendrils. Such
'ribs' are found where large
clumps occur anomalously
in galaxy rims, arms,
and underdecks
RIBS AND TENDRILS IN M100
'V' BREACH - WHERE TWO ARMS ABRUPTLY INTERLEAVE
Tendrils
including small
tongs dig into M100
from a large gob which
anomalously dominates the upper
end of the s-shaped core. Notice that the
right arm bridges under another arm before winding
down the right flank, the fact of the under-bridge
means this arm initiated from the other side
of the core and has been able to remain
intact as a flow of angular momentum
in passing below another angular
momentum flow passing over
head at right angles.
It is not a mere
phenomena
of degrees
of heat driving
the two right angle motions.
The juice that drives is angular momentum
powered through vector changes by fields of gravity
(and assume magnetism plus massive charge fields). In sum
total an inertia keeps arms together even when arms
lace through each other like jet streams
Highly enhanced
At once
something is
learned. Below the
gob with tendrils is a 'V'
breach where two arms abruptly
interleave. In stereo the two arms
are folded at a right angle (more or
less, picture the fold down an open
book). Immediately below is the
right side inner arm which
passes underneath the
arm to dive away
into depth
on the left side.
These images cannot say
if the underbridging arm is flowing
out and down the inside right, or flows the other
way. The gob is partially cleaved by an image patching error seen
in a thin rectangle of different image densities along straight edge lines
CHAINS OF BRIGHT DOTS ARE SKELETON ARMS
INTERMEDIATE SPACE AROUND M110 IS LACED WITH GLOBULAR CLUSTERS
ORGANIZED IN CURVES AND STRAIGHT LINE CLUSTER CHAINS
RINGS OF STAR CLUSTERS CURL UP AND BACK HOOKING INTO ANDROMEDA
The large
concentric elliptical
star chain rings both well away
from the left side and horizontally oriented,
plus one on the right side in a more vertical slant,
are probably all that is left of the arms of a sizeable
small spiral galaxy which was stripped clean of
all of its gold after passing through
thick Andromeda
Hordes
of globular
clusters crowd
around and inside the hem
of the glowing elliptical shell, the clusters
appear pristinely enhanced in blue color tone. The center,
long thought to be impenetrable, is a small hot dot hardly more
than the size of a giant globular cluster and around it a halo
which has internal order if not actual arms. Two color tone
views shown full size show the internal order at the
nuclear core, and the diffuse greater halo
which makes it a distorted (oblong)
elliptical galaxy
Click here for more on M110
|
SYNOPSIS These topic captions are also found in the Preview page Andromeda has a lot more going for it than first meets the eye. Even though the most studied galaxy in astronomy (the nearest spiral giant to us, estimated at roughly 3 times larger than the Milky Way, Many features of andromeda have never the less been overlooked Bold enhancement of center reveals for the first time (by Greydon Moore) a rather typical central vortex formations, arms swirling out/in tightly around a kernal core, the arms in a fishtailing fashion spinning off flaring out from thin tendrils at either end of two poles Andromeda is a wide open spiral, not a liver fluke kinked in mid swim in liver juices as all images of Andromeda suggest due to its lay and plane in space relative to us where we see Andromeda somewhat at an oblique angle more on edge. The top of Andromeda is a vortex open to space, underneath are large accumulations of dim diffuse matter when revealed show Andromeda is somewhat like the crown on top of a wisdom tooth the lower portion a kind of pedestal on top of which the most visible whorls (crown) are wide open to outer space Doodads in the form of small dipsy doodles festoon the forward leading (upper) rim A spike sticks out from under the rim, the spike of unknown nature looking not unlike the tail of an armadillo. The spike is hard to see since most Andromeda images do not show it at all and only a few show traces of the spike. One image has a more seeable component and from it it is possible to show the following magnification and enhancement in which a 'spike' object is clearly seen Long thin arms in a flattish layer stacked somewhat like pancakes wind out and around to the rear from underneath the left flank, such 'layered' thin winds are not uncommon and are seen routinely in highly enhanced views of spiral galaxies A wave through the visible ecliptic axis (here west to east) is common in galaxies, where one portion flares or waves upward, the opposite portion flares down, in some galaxy extremes the bi-lateral asymmetry can be very pronounced, in other galaxies the asymmetry slight, more serene. In Andromeda the asymmetry shows that one of Andromeda's motions is as if hurtling end over end through space except the motion is so slow the result is hardly there over a long time, just the fluke shape resulting with the left side up, the right side down. Since Andromeda is more circularly shaped than it is elongated, the overall topology due to the end over end motion is somewhat like a soft pizza crust hurtling in the air in verrry slow motion Original Andromeda images used in this presentation are found here and here |
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ANDROMEDA This picture shows M31 (NGC 224) and its small companions M32 (NGC 221), lower center, and NGC 205 (sometimes designated M110), to the upper right. The image was made by combining three separate frames derived from photographic plates taken in 1979 at the Burrell Schmidt telescope of the Warner and Swasey Observatory of Case Western Reserve University (CWRU). This telescope is situated on Kitt Peak in southern Arizona, and is shared between CWRU and the national community served by Kitt Peak National Observatory. In order to provide color information, we use photographic plates coated with different emulsions, which are sensitive to different regions of the spectrum, in conjunction with filters which only let pass part of the full range of wavelengths. Three plates having three different combinations of emulsion and filter were digitized for computer use by undergraduate Vanessa Harvey during the summer 1996 Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program, funded by the National Science Foundation. The digitization was carried out with Kitt Peak's PDS plate densitometer, a high resolution, photometrically stable, scanner. The three frames approximate the primary colors red, green and blue, from which it was possible to create this estimate of a true color picture. M31 is a large spiral galaxy, very similar in appearance to, and slightly larger than, our own Galaxy, and our closest normal-galaxy companion (the very close Magellanic clouds are classified as irregular galaxies). In fact, from a distant vantage point, Andromeda and the Galaxy would appear as a pair, a binary or double galaxy system, if it were not for the rather smaller, though still significant, spiral galaxy M33. As our nearest neighbor, Andromeda is extremely large on the sky. This picture extends for over two and a quarter degrees, or more than four times the width of the full moon, and still does not include the full extent of M31. M31 is visible to the naked eye, although we can only see the bright inner bulge, and it has therefore been known since at least the year 964AD, when Persian astronomer Al-Sufi described it as a `little cloud'. We can see that the western (right) side of M31 is closer to us, by the fact that the dark dust lanes belonging to the inner spiral arms show up in silhouette against the nucleus on that side only. At the very center of the Andromeda Galaxy is a brilliant point of light, which is a very tightly packed star cluster, but this is not visible in this saturated image. The entire galaxy is rotating in space, with the lower portions approaching while the upper parts recede. The rotation is not completely smooth, showing `bumps' where the spiral arms occur, which are probably due to the spiral density wave that maintains the arms. By applying gravitational theory to this rotation, we can `weigh' M31, and when we do it seems that there may be ten times as much material as we can see in the visible portions of the galaxy, distributed in a huge dark halo. Photographic plates are hardly used in astronomy any more, due to their very low efficiency (a few percent at best) compared to electronic detectors such as charge-coupled devices (CCDs) which can collect more than 50% of the light falling on them. Plates are also less accurate for measuring light intensities, but they can still be of benefit for imaging large areas at one time. Location: 00h 40m 00s +41deg 00min (1950.0), constellation of Andromeda (oddly enough). Distance: approximately 2.2 million light years. Size: over 65000 light years across. Minimum credit line: Bill Schoening, Vanessa Harvey/REU program/AURA/NOAO/NSF (for details see Copyright Statement) |
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Web site/display/designs/image enhancements - Greydon Moore
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