Hubble Space Telescope Reveals Glittering Galaxies Of New Stars

Using “natural magnifying lenses in space,” the acclaimed Hubble Space Telescope has photographed amazing close-up glimpses of what NASA refers to as “the universe’s brightest infrared galaxies.” “The galaxy images, magnified through a phenomenon called gravitational lensing, reveal a tangled web of misshapen objects punctuated by exotic patterns, such as rings and arcs,” NASA says. “The unusual forms may have been produced by spectacular collisions between distant, massive galaxies in a sort of cosmic demolition derby.” It’s not just the glitz, glamour and garish-looking spectacle of the galaxy clusters. These galaxies are producing more than 10,000 new stars a year. And their glow is so bright in the infrared range that they shine with the intensity of 10 trillion to 100 trillion suns. “We have hit the jackpot of gravitational lenses,” galaxy researcher and astronomer James Lowenthal, of Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, said in a NASA statement. “These ultra-luminous, massive starburst galaxies are very rare. Gravitational lensing magnifies them so that you can see small details that otherwise are unimaginable.” Astronomers “want to understand what’s powering these monsters,” Lowenthal said, “and gravitational lensing allows us to study them in greater detail.” As more and more planets are discovered in our home galaxy, the Milky Way, the sheer numbe...
Source: Science - The Huffington Post - Category: Science Source Type: news
More News: Science | Study | Websites