Pressmeddelande

En galax med supervind: NGC 4666

1 september 2010

Galaxen NGC 4666 intar huvudpositionen i mitten av den här nya bilden, tagen i synligt ljus med vidvinkelkameran WFI på MPG/ESO–2.2–meter-teleskopet vid La Silla-observatoriet i Chile. NGC 4666 är en spännande galax med mycket livlig stjärnbildning och en ovanlig “supervind” som består av gas som strömmar ut från galaxen. Den har tidigare observerats i röntgenstrålning av ESA:s rymdteleskop XMM-Newton. Den aktuella bilden togs för att detaljstudera andra källor som upptäckts i röntgenobservationerna.

I mitten av bilden framträder galaxen NGC 4666, ungefär 80 miljoner ljusår från jorden. Här pågår det ett utbrott av intensiv stjärnbildning som forskare tror orsakas av växelverkan med andra närliggande galaxer. Några granngalaxer vars tyngdkraft drar i NGC 4666 syns nedan till vänster i bilden. Växelverkan av den här typen av sätter ofta i gång kraftig stjärnbildning i medverkande galaxer.

En kombination av supernovaexplosioner och starka vindar från de tyngsta nybildade stjärnorna driver ett vidsträckt gasflöde från galaxen ut i rymden – en så kallad “supervind”. Supervinden är gigantisk i omfång och sträcker sig tiotusentals ljusår utåt från galaxens ljusstarka mitt. Eftersom gasen i supervinden är mycket het avger den mest strålning i röntgen- och radiovåglängder. Vinden framträder inte i bilder tagna i synligt ljus, som den som presenteras här.

Bilden togs som en del av en uppföljning till observationer i röntgenstrålning gjorda med ESA:s rymdteleskop XMM-Newton. NGC 4666 var målet för de ursprungliga observationerna med XMM-Newton, men tack vare teleskopets vidvinkelkapacitet kunde man se en mängd andra röntgenstrålande objekt i bakgrunden. En sådan lyckosam upptäckt är en ljussvag galaxhop nära bildens nedre kant i mitten. Hopen befinner sig mycket längre bort från oss än NGC 4666, på ett avstånd av ungefär 3 miljarder ljusår.

För att förstå just sådana astronomiska källor måste forskare observera dem i många olika våglängder. Ljus av olika våglängder kan ge oss information om olika fysikaliska processer som äger rum. I det här fallet gjordes observationer i synligt ljus med vidvinkelkameran WFI [1] för att kunna studera de oväntade upptäckterna i röntgenstrålning ytterligare. Det ger ett exempel på hur astronomer som använder olika teleskop tillsammans arbetar för att utforska universum.

Noter

[1] WFI (Wide Field Imager) är ett samarbetsprojekt mellan Europeiska sydobservatoriet (ESO), Max–Planck–institutet för astronomi (MPIA) i Heidelberg (Tyskland) och Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte i Neapel (Italien).

Mer information

ESO, Europeiska sydobservatoriet, är Europas främsta samarbetsorgan för astronomisk forskning och världens mest produktiva astronomiska observatorium. Det stöds av 14 länder: Belgien, Danmark, Finland, Frankrike, Italien, Nederländerna, Portugal, Schweiz, Spanien, Storbritannien, Sverige, Tjeckien, Tyskland och Österrike. ESO:s ambitiösa verksamhet rör design, konstruktion och drift av avancerade markbaserade forskningsanläggningar som gör det möjligt för astronomer att göra banbrytande vetenskapliga upptäckter. ESO spelar dessutom en ledande roll i att främja och organisera samarbeten inom astronomisk forskning. ESO driver tre unika observationsplatser i Chile: La Silla, Paranal och Chajnantor. Vid Paranal finns Very Large Telescope, världens mest avancerade observatorium för synligt ljus, och VISTA, det största kartläggningsteleskopet. ESO bidrar dessutom till ALMA, ett revolutionerande astronomiskt teleskop och världens hittills största astronomiska projekt. ESO planerar för närvarande bygget av ett 42-meters europeiskt extremt stort teleskop för synligt och infrarött ljus, E-ELT, som kommer att bli ”världens största öga mot himlen”.

Länkar

Kontakter

Richard Hook
ESO La Silla/Paranal & E-ELT Public Information Officer
Garching bei München, Germany
Tel: +49 89 3200 6655
E-post: rhook@eso.org

Jörg Dietrich
Physics Department, University of Michigan
USA
Tel: +1 734 615 4256
E-post: jorgd@umich.edu

Johan Warell (Presskontakt för Sverige)
ESO:s nätverk för vetenskaplig kommunikation
Skurup, Sverige
Tel: +46-706-494731
E-post: eson-sweden@eso.org

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Detta är den översatta versionen av ESO:s pressmeddelande eso1036 som har tagits fram inom ESON, ett nätverk av medarbetare i ESO:s medlemsländer. ESON-representanterna fungerar som lokala kontaktpersoner för media i samband med ESO:s pressmeddelanden och andra händelser. ESON:s kontaktperson i Sverige är Johan Warell.

Om pressmeddelandet

Pressmeddelande nr:eso1036sv
Namn:NGC 4666
Typ:Local Universe : Galaxy : Activity : Starburst
Facility:MPG/ESO 2.2-metre telescope
Instruments:WFI
Science data:2006A&A...449..837D

Bilder

The superwind galaxy NGC 4666
The superwind galaxy NGC 4666
text på engelska
Wide-field view of the field around NGC 4666
Wide-field view of the field around NGC 4666
text på engelska

Videor

Zooming in on NGC 4666
Zooming in on NGC 4666
text på engelska
Panning across the field of NGC 4666
Panning across the field of NGC 4666
text på engelska

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