#merge nsf

[apod]

2024 September 8

M31: The Andromeda Galaxy Image Credit: Subaru (NAOJ), Hubble (NASA/ESA), Mayall (NSF); Processing & Copyright: R. Gendler & R. Croman

Explanation: The most distant object easily visible to the unaided eye is M31, the great Andromeda Galaxy. Even at some two and a half million light-years distant, this immense spiral galaxy -- spanning over 200,000 light years -- is visible, although as a faint, nebulous cloud in the constellation Andromeda. A bright yellow nucleus, dark winding dust lanes, and expansive spiral arms dotted with blue star clusters and red nebulae, are recorded in this stunning telescopic image which combines data from orbiting Hubble with ground-based images from Subaru and Mayall. In only about 5 billion years, the Andromeda galaxy may be even easier to see -- as it will likely span the entire night sky -- just before it merges with, or passes right by, our Milky Way Galaxy.

∞ Source: apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap240908.html

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory will detect millions of exploding stars

Measuring distances across the universe is much more challenging than measuring distances on Earth. Is a brighter star closer to Earth than another, or is it just emitting more light? To make confident distance measurements, scientists rely on objects that emit a known amount of light, like Type Ia supernovae.

These spectacular explosions, among the brightest to ever be recorded in the night sky, result from the violent deaths of white dwarf stars and provide scientists with a reliable cosmic yardstick. Their brightness and color, combined with information about their host galaxies, allow scientists to calculate their distance and how much the universe expanded while their light made its journey to us. With enough Type Ia supernovae observations, scientists can measure the universe's expansion rate and whether it changes over time.

Although we've caught thousands of Type Ia supernovae to date, seeing them once or twice is not enough—there is a goldmine of information in how their fleeting light varies over time. NSF–DOE Vera C. Rubin Observatory will soon begin scanning the southern hemisphere sky every night for ten years, covering the entire hemisphere approximately every few nights. Every time Rubin detects an object changing brightness or position it will send an alert to the science community. With such rapid detection, Rubin will be our most powerful tool yet for spotting Type Ia supernovae before they fade away.

Rubin Observatory is a joint program of NSF NOIRLab and DOE's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, which will cooperatively operate Rubin.

Scientists like Anais Möller, a member of the Rubin/LSST Dark Energy Science Collaboration, look forward to Rubin's decade-long Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST), during which it's expected to detect millions of Type Ia supernovae.

"The large volume of data from Rubin will give us a sample of all kinds of Type Ia supernovae at a range of distances and in many different types of galaxies," says Möller.

In fact, Rubin will discover many more Type Ia supernovae in the first few months of the LSST than were used in the initial discovery of dark energy—the mysterious force causing the universe to expand faster than expected based on gravitational theory. Current measurements hint that dark energy might change over time, which—if confirmed—could help refine our understanding of the universe's age and evolution. That in turn would impact what we understand about how the universe formed, including how quickly stars and galaxies formed in the early universe.

With a much larger set of Type Ia supernovae from across the universe scientists will be able to refine our existing map of space and time, getting a fuller picture of dark energy's influence.

"The universe expanding is like a rubber band being stretched. If dark energy is not constant, that would be like stretching the rubber band by different amounts at different points," says Möller. "I think in the next decade we will be able to constrain whether dark energy is constant or evolving with cosmic time. Rubin will allow us to do that with Type Ia supernovae."

Every night Rubin Observatory will produce about 20 terabytes of data and generate up to 10 million alerts—no other telescope in history has produced a firehose of data quite like this. It has required scientists to rethink the way they manage rapid alerts and to develop methods and systems to handle the large incoming datasets.

Rubin's deluge of nightly alerts will be managed and made available to scientists through seven community software systems that will ingest and process these alerts before serving them up to scientists around the world. Möller, together with a large collaboration of scientists across expertises, is developing one of these systems, called Fink.

The software systems collect the alerts from Rubin each night, merge Rubin data with other datasets, and using machine-learning, classify them according to their type, such as kilonovae, variable stars, or Type Ia supernovae, among others. Scientists using one of Rubin's community systems, like Fink, will be able to sort the massive dataset of alerts according to selected filters, allowing them to quickly home in on the data that are useful for their research.

"Because of the large volumes of data, we can't do science the same way we did before," says Möller. "Rubin is a generational shift. And our responsibility is developing the methods that will be used by the next generation."

[shrinkthisviolet]

Not sure if you’ve made a post about this alr but how would Reyna save Nora from disappearing? You said something about Reyna being a breather. So like Cisco?

I was so so sad when Nora died (and actually wondered what would happen if she ran into the negative sf) but we never got to see that. Ie, her personality with the negative sf being apart of her.

Reyna is indeed a breacher, like her parents, Cisco and Cynthia. The issue, and why I don’t really have much of an answer to your question, is that I don’t really know how Reyna would actually go about doing this 😅

It seems like their powers are vibration-based—they can sense other timelines that way, but can’t necessarily interact with those other timelines (their breaches can traverse universes, but not timelines…at least not on the show). I know Cisco’s powers are way more OP in the comics, but idk if they’re OP enough that someone with his powers could pull someone from a different timeline into this one. So it’s a fun thought experiment, but uh…I have no idea how it would actually happen 😅 because the whole point of this idea is that Nora is in the wrong timeline, so she’d have to be pulled from her old timeline before she could actually be erased, into this new timeline that she’s already been erased from (hopefully that wording makes sense)

Yeah, I was sad when Nora died too. Mostly it rubbed me kinda the wrong way when they brought her back in s7 and just…treated her like “replacement Nora”—this isn’t just Nora revived, this is literally just “oh she died, but it’s okay, Westallen had another version of her and everything is fine!” It felt a little cheap to me (tbh having the two Nora’s interact has been swirling around in my head as a fic concept but…that’s for a different post 😂)

I also think that having her merge with the NSF in the s5 finale would’ve been way better than her “villain arc” in 5x20. Of course, the ultimate end would be “this isn’t you!” and pulling the NSF out of her but…idk, imagine if she raced off at the end of s5, was teased as a new villain for 6a, and Barry has to grapple with fighting his own daughter, knowing that if he pulls the NSF out of her, it’ll kill her instantly. It could make for some great drama (and maybe they could give Nora more villain gravitas instead of just her throwing a tantrum). Though ofc in the end they would ultimately do it…and 6a would end with the immediate onset of Crisis.

Idk. Something like that. It’s not a perfect idea, but it intrigues me nonetheless

[ariadneurania]

Jenny Holzer, With You Inside Me Comes the Knowledge of My Death, 1994, Silver snake ring with inscription ||| Ariadne Urania, “Track 4: Lay me Down (Dialogue),” 2021 ||| John 6:55, King James Bible ||| Ariadne Urania, “Track 4: Lay me Down,” 2021 ||| International Gemini Observatory / NOIRLab / NSF / AURA, NGC 4567 and NGC 4568 merging ||| Danez Smith, “Poem Where I Be a Doe & You, by Effect, Are a Wolf” ||| Lady Gaga, “Monster”

Felt inspired by @beesbeesthrees to do a bit of web weaving.

[andromeda1023]

In this panorama, the Milky Way galaxy curves over the summit of Maunakea in Hawai‘i like an arched gateway to the cosmos. The 8.1-meter Gemini North, one half of the International Gemini Observatory, operated by NSF’s NOIRLab, is visible at the center of the image, and the 3.8-meter United Kingdom Infrared Telescope is to its right. From atop the long-dormant volcano, in the dry air of the Pacific, Gemini North and its neighboring telescopes are superbly located for infrared observations.

The infrared capabilities of Gemini North — and its twin telescope Gemini South in the southern hemisphere — allow astronomers to see through the cosmic dust that blocks visible light from stars and galaxies. They are also optimal for peering into the cold corners of the Universe. Gemini North has detected the potential first traces of the Universe’s earliest stars, confirmed the presence of an ultra-faint fossil galaxy, and detected two black holes within distant merging galaxies.

This photo was taken as part of the recent NOIRLab 2022 Photo Expedition to all the NOIRLab sites.Credit:

International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/T. Slovinský

[of-stars-and-dust]

Astronomy Picture of the Day

2005 March 30

ULXs in M74

Credit: X-ray; J. Liu (U.Mich.) et al., CXC, NASA - Optical; T. Boroson (NOAO), AURA, NOAO, NSF

Explanation: In visual appearance, M74 is a nearly perfect face-on spiral galaxy, about 30 million light-years away toward the constellation Pisces. The red blotches seen in this composite view are ultraluminous x-ray sources (ULXs) mapped by the Chandra X-ray Observatory. The ULXs are so called because they actually do radiate 10 to 1,000 times more x-ray power than "ordinary" x-ray binary stars, which harbor a neutron star or stellar mass black hole. In fact, watching these ULXs change their x-ray brightness over periods of 2 hours or so, astronomers conclude that ULXs could well be intermediate mass black holes -- black holes with masses 10,000 times or so greater than the Sun, but still much less than the million solar mass black holes which lurk in the centers of large spiral galaxies. How did these intermediate mass black holes get there? One intriguing suggestion is that they are left over from the cores of much smaller galaxies that are merging with spiral galaxy M74.

Authors & editors: Robert Nemiroff (MTU) & Jerry Bonnell (USRA)

NASA Official: Jay Norris.

A service of: EUD at NASA / GSFC

& Michigan Tech. U.

[makers-muse]

Unlock Interdisciplinary Learning with a STEM Lab Here’s How! 

A Classroom Where Subjects Connect 

Ms. Patel, a high school teacher, noticed something fascinating in her STEM lab. Instead of students working on isolated math, science, or engineering lessons, they were designing water filtration systems, combining chemistry, physics, and environmental science. They weren’t just memorizing formulas—they were solving real-world problems. 

This is the power of interdisciplinary learning, and STEM labs are the key. When students see how subjects connect, they develop a deeper understanding, think critically, and become better problem solvers. But how exactly does a STEM lab promote interdisciplinary education, and how can schools implement one effectively? Let’s dive in! 

Why STEM Labs Are the Future of Interdisciplinary Learning 

1. Blending Science, Math, and Technology for Real-World Applications 

STEM labs eliminate the traditional boundaries between subjects. Instead of teaching math and science separately, students apply algebra in coding projects or physics in engineering prototypes. 

Fact: The National Academy of Sciences found that students who learn through interdisciplinary STEM methods score 15% higher in problem-solving tests. 

Example: 

A robotics project requires students to apply physics (motion and forces), coding (programming sensors), and math (calculating speed and distance). 

Chemistry students use data analysis to determine the effectiveness of different soil compositions for growing crops. 

Why it works:  Students grasp concepts better when they see their real-world relevance.  Problem-solving skills improve as they learn to integrate multiple disciplines.  They develop adaptability, a crucial skill in today’s job market. 

2. Enhancing Critical Thinking Through Hands-On Learning 

Traditional learning often involves memorization, but STEM labs encourage exploration. When students work on interdisciplinary projects, they analyze, test hypotheses, and iterate their designs. 

Fact: A study by the National Science Foundation (NSF) found that hands-on STEM activities improve student engagement by 32%. 

Example: 

A project designing earthquake-resistant buildings combines engineering (structure design), physics (seismic waves), and computer simulations (data modeling). 

Why it works:  Encourages students to think critically rather than just recall facts.  Fosters creativity and innovation through experimentation.  Builds resilience as students refine and improve their projects. 

3. Preparing Students for Future Careers 

The workforce is no longer divided into rigid fields. Today’s industries demand professionals who can merge skills from multiple disciplines—think biomedical engineers, AI-powered financial analysts, and data-driven environmental scientists. 

Fact: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 10.8% growth in STEM jobs by 2032, twice the rate of non-STEM fields. 

Example: 

A biotech student designs a wearable health-monitoring device, applying biology, engineering, and AI-driven analytics. 

Why it works:  Encourages students to explore emerging careers.  Prepares them for interdisciplinary roles in AI, healthcare, and engineering.  Builds the adaptability needed in a rapidly changing job market. 

4. Fostering Collaboration and Teamwork 

In STEM labs, students work in teams, solving complex challenges that require diverse skills. This mirrors real-world work environments, where professionals collaborate across departments. 

Fact: Research by Harvard University shows that teamwork-based learning improves student performance by 25% compared to individual tasks. 

Example: 

A team designing an eco-friendly smart home integrates mechanical engineering (energy efficiency), environmental science (sustainable materials), and coding (smart automation). 

Why it works:  Strengthens communication and teamwork skills.  Encourages leadership and project management abilities.  Mimics real-world work settings, enhancing employability. 

How to Implement a STEM Lab in Your School 

Secure STEM Grants: Apply for funding from organizations like the National Science Foundation (NSF) or NASA Education Grants. 

  Partner with Tech Companies: Google, Microsoft, and Intel offer free software and mentorship programs. 

  Use Affordable STEM Kits: Start with budget-friendly tools like Raspberry Pi (coding), LEGO Mindstorms (robotics), and 3D printers for design projects 

.  Train Teachers in STEM Education: Platforms like Coursera, Code.org, and MIT OpenCourseWare offer specialized STEM training. 

Ready to Unlock Interdisciplinary Learning? 

A STEM lab isn’t just a classroom upgrade—it’s a game-changer for student engagement, problem-solving, and future career readiness. Schools that invest in STEM labs see higher academic performance and better-prepared graduates. 

Don’t wait start building a STEM lab in your school today! 

 Contact Maker Muse Today!  Website: https://makersmuse.in/  Email: info@makersmuse.in 

[fundedbydarpa]

Well, yesterday the NSF laid off 11% of its workforce. I had an exchange last night with a long-time NSF program director, who gave permission for me to share the gist, suitably anonymized. This person says that they want people to be aware of what's going on. They say that NSF leadership are apparently helping with layoffs, and that “permanent Program Directors (feds such as myself) will be undergoing reduction in force (RIF) process within the next month or so. So far, through buyouts and firings today we lost about 16% of the workforce, and RIF is expected to bring it up to 50%.” When I asked further, this person said this was “fairly certain.” They went on: “Another danger is budget. We do not know what happens after the current continuing resolution (CR) ends March 14. A long shutdown or another CR are possible. For FY26 we are told about plans to reduce the NSF budget by 50–75% — such reduction will mean no new awards for at least a year, elimination of divisions, merging of programs.”

Blog post by Rice University physics professor Douglas Natelson on February 19, 2025

[bllsbailey]

The Media Had a Total Meltdown Over Trump Overhauling USAID

USAID is about to get a severe haircut: it’s now part of the State Department, where its staff will be chopped down significantly. It’s part of the Trump administration’s promise to trim the fat from Washington’s out-of-control bureaucracy that does nothing. The bloating ends now, and Trump has Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to act as his avenging angel on the waste, corruption, and fraud that has suppurated throughout the capital (via CBS News):'

USAID, the United States Agency for International Development, will be merged into the State Department with significant cuts in the workforce, but it will remain a humanitarian aid entity, three U.S. officials told CBS News.   Officials in President Trump's administration are expected to announce the moves in the coming days. Discussions about the extent of the funding reductions remained fluid on Monday.  Mr. Trump made Secretary of State Marco Rubio the acting administrator of USAID, sources said, and Rubio himself soon confirmed it to reporters traveling with him in El Salvador. ABC News earlier reported his status as chief. Rubio said in a letter to congressional leaders that he has authorized Peter Marocco, director of foreign assistance at State, to perform the duties of deputy administrator of USAID and to begin a "review and potential reorganization of USAID's activities to maximize efficiency and align operations." 

The media cannot be shocked by this, as Trump has promised to slash and burn DC if elected. Yet, they melted down nonetheless at CNN and MSNBC's usual spaces. From phantom coups to ‘everyone is going to die’ if USAID is gutted like this, the meltdown takes were delicious. It's not as explosive as in years past because I think the Left is exhausted of getting rolled by Trump, but it was entertaining. Also, please spare us the coup talk: Biden’s entire presidency is arguably suspect, given Joe’s mental state and the Democrats did execute a coup in 2024 to replace him on the ticket, so shut the hell up, guys. Vigilant Fox summarized it perfectly: “The media’s meltdown proves Elon Musk and Trump hit the Deep State right where it hurts.”

DOGE has gained access to the payment system of the Treasury Department, forcing out a career DC official after a run-in with Musk’s allies. They’ve burned through USAID and reportedly gained full access to the Small Business Administration.

Federal workers who do not wish to stick around and get a nice seven-to-nine-month severance package have two more days to quit. 

Through 1/29/2025, 85 DEIA related contracts totaling ~$1B have been terminated within the Dept. of Ed, GSA, OPM, EPA, DoL, Treasury, DoD, USDA, Commerce, DHS, VA, HHS, State, NSF, NRC, NLRB, PBGC, USAID, RRB, SSA, SBA, BLM, CFPB, NPS, and NOAA.— Department of Government Efficiency (@DOGE) January 30, 2025

— Ashley St. Clair (@stclairashley) February 3, 2025

Trending on Townhall Videos

[caravanmarketing]

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[spacenutspod]

This Hubble Picture of the Week features Arp 122, a peculiar galaxy that in fact comprises two galaxies — NGC 6040, the tilted, warped spiral galaxy and LEDA 59642, the round, face-on spiral — that are in the midst of a collision. This dramatic cosmic encounter is located at the very safe distance of roughly 570 million light-years from Earth.ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Dalcanton, Dark Energy Survey/DOE/FNAL/DECam/CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA Acknowledgement: L. Shatz This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features Arp 122, a peculiar galaxy that in fact comprises two galaxies – NGC 6040, the tilted, warped spiral galaxy and LEDA 59642, the round, face-on spiral – that are in the midst of a collision. This dramatic cosmic encounter is located at the very safe distance of roughly 570 million light-years from Earth. Peeking in at the lower-left corner is the elliptical galaxy NGC 6041, a central member of the galaxy cluster that Arp 122 resides in, but otherwise not participating in this monster merger. Galactic collisions and mergers are monumentally energetic and dramatic events, but they take place on a very slow timescale. For example, the Milky Way is on track to collide with its nearest galactic neighbor, the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), but these two galaxies have a good four billion years to go before they actually meet. The process of colliding and merging will not be a quick one either: it might take hundreds of millions of years to unfold. These collisions take so long because of the truly massive distances involved. Galaxies are composed of stars and their solar systems, dust, gas, and invisible dark matter. In galactic collisions, therefore, these constituent components may experience enormous changes in the gravitational forces acting on them. In time, this completely changes the structure of the two (or more) colliding galaxies, and sometimes ultimately results in a single, merged galaxy. That may well be what results from the collision pictured in this image. Galaxies that result from mergers are thought to have a regular or elliptical structure, as the merging process disrupts more complex structures (such as those observed in spiral galaxies). It would be fascinating to know what Arp 122 will look like once this collision is complete… but that will not happen for a long, long time.  Text credit: European Space Agency Media Contact: Claire AndreoliNASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MDclaire.andreoli@nasa.gov

[apod]

2023 October 7

The Once and Future Stars of Andromeda Image Credit: NASA, NSF, NOAJ, Hubble, Subaru, Mayall, DSS, Spitzer; Processing & Copyright: Robert Gendler & Russell Croman

Explanation: This picture of Andromeda shows not only where stars are now, but where stars will be. The big, beautiful Andromeda Galaxy, M31, is a spiral galaxy a mere 2.5 million light-years away. Image data from space-based and ground-based observatories have been combined here to produce this intriguing composite view of Andromeda at wavelengths both inside and outside normally visible light. The visible light shows where M31's stars are now, highlighted in white and blue hues and imaged by the Hubble, Subaru, and Mayall telescopes. The infrared light shows where M31's future stars will soon form, highlighted in orange hues and imaged by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. The infrared light tracks enormous lanes of dust, warmed by stars, sweeping along Andromeda's spiral arms. This dust is a tracer of the galaxy's vast interstellar gas, raw material for future star formation. Of course, the new stars will likely form over the next hundred million years or so. That's well before Andromeda merges with our Milky Way Galaxy in about 5 billion years.

∞ Source: apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap231007.html

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

A new theory on universe's star formation

The universe doesn't come with an instruction manual—but if it did, University of Missouri Assistant Professor Charles Steinhardt suspects a few pages are missing. Either the universe has been playing by different rules all along, or humanity has been reading the script wrong.

Traditionally, astronomers have grouped galaxies into two different categories: blue, which are young and actively forming stars, and red, which are older and have ceased star formation. Now, Steinhardt is challenging the traditional understanding of galaxies by proposing a third category: red star-forming. They don't fit neatly into the usual blue or red—instead, they're somewhere in between.

"Red star-forming galaxies primarily produce low-mass stars, making them appear red despite ongoing star birth," he said. "This theory was developed to address inconsistencies with the traditional observed ratios of black hole mass to stellar mass and the differing initial mass functions in blue and red galaxies—two problems not explainable by aging or merging alone. However, what we learned is that most of the stars we see today might have formed under different conditions than we previously believed."

Steinhardt's research, published in The Astrophysical Journal, suggests that red star-forming galaxies might have played a much bigger role in the universe's history. This could change our current understanding of how galaxies evolve, the processes that shape them and how we measure star formation throughout the universe's history.

"The existence of these galaxies could mean that the universe has formed significantly more stars than previously estimated," he said. "It supports the idea that the life cycle of galaxies is more complex than a simple progression from blue to red and dead."

A new take on post-starburst galaxies

Traditionally, galaxies are known to have evolved either through gradual aging or by merging, where the collisions can trigger bursts of new stars. Therefore, astronomers have long been puzzled by post-starburst galaxies, which suddenly stop making new stars after a short period of intense star formation. The common theory is that two galaxies collide, causing a quick burst of new stars before running out of energy and going quiet.

But Steinhardt suggests another possibility. Some of these galaxies may have been slowly forming small, red stars instead of experiencing a sudden burst of star formation. If that's true, he said, we may need to change how we define post-starburst galaxies, as some might belong to a different category of red star-forming galaxies.

In the future, Steinhardt and his students in Mizzou's Department of Physics plan on conducting more advanced tests to further investigate star-forming galaxies. Junior Mathieux Harper and a team of undergraduate students will look for more evidence to support the idea that some post-starburst galaxies fall into the newly proposed category.

Meanwhile, sophomores Carter Meyerhoff and Zach Borowiak will lead a research project using data from the European Space Agency's Gaia satellite to study over two billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy.

IMAGE: In this Hubble Space Telescope picture, both blue and red galaxies are visible. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Dalcanton, Dark Energy Survey/DOE/ FNAL/DECam/CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA Acknowledgement: L. Shatz

[jcmarchi]

Hubble Captures a Monster Merger - Technology Org

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/hubble-captures-a-monster-merger-technology-org/

Hubble Captures a Monster Merger - Technology Org

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features Arp 122, a peculiar galaxy that, in fact, comprises two galaxies – NGC 6040, the tilted, warped spiral galaxy and LEDA 59642, the round, face-on spiral – that are amid a collision. This dramatic cosmic encounter is located at a very safe distance of roughly 570 million light-years from Earth. Peeking in at the lower-left corner is the elliptical galaxy NGC 6041, a central member of the galaxy cluster that Arp 122 resides in but otherwise does not participate in this monster merger.

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image features Arp 122, a peculiar galaxy that in fact comprises two galaxies – NGC 6040, the tilted, warped spiral galaxy and LEDA 59642, the round, face-on spiral – that are in the midst of a collision. Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Dalcanton, Dark Energy Survey/DOE/FNAL/DECam/CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA Acknowledgement: L. Shatz

Galactic collisions and mergers are monumentally energetic and dramatic events, but they take place on a very slow timescale. For example, the Milky Way is on track to collide with its nearest galactic neighbor, the Andromeda Galaxy (M31). Still, these two galaxies have a good four billion years to go before they actually meet. The process of colliding and merging will not be quick either: it might take hundreds of millions of years to unfold. These collisions take so long because of the truly massive distances involved.

Galaxies are composed of stars and their solar systems, dust, gas, and invisible dark matter. In galactic collisions, therefore, these constituent components may experience enormous changes in the gravitational forces acting on them. In time, this completely changes the structure of the two (or more) colliding galaxies, sometimes ultimately resulting in a single, merged galaxy. That may well be what results from the collision pictured in this image. Galaxies that result from mergers are thought to have a regular or elliptical structure, as the merging process disrupts more complex structures (such as those observed in spiral galaxies). It would be fascinating to know what Arp 122 will look like once this collision is complete… but that will not happen for long. 

Source: National Aeronautics and Space Administration

You can offer your link to a page which is relevant to the topic of this post.

[tatmanblue]

When one plus one (eventually) equals one by European Space Agency Via Flickr: This Hubble Picture of the Week features Arp 122, a peculiar galaxy that in fact comprises two galaxies — NGC 6040, the tilted, warped spiral galaxy and LEDA 59642, the round, face-on spiral — that are in the midst of a collision. This dramatic cosmic encounter is located at the very safe distance of roughly 570 million light-years from Earth. Peeking in at the corner is the elliptical galaxy NGC 6041, a central member of the galaxy cluster that Arp 122 resides in, but otherwise not participating in this monster merger. Galactic collisions and mergers are monumentally energetic and dramatic events, but they take place on a very slow timescale. For example, the Milky Way is on track to collide with its nearest galactic neighbour, the Andromeda Galaxy (M31), but these two galaxies have a good four billion years to go before they actually meet. The process of colliding and merging will not be a quick one either: it might take hundreds of millions of years to unfold. These collisions take so long because of the truly massive distances involved. Galaxies are composed of stars and their solar systems, dust and gas. In galactic collisions, therefore, these constituent components may experience enormous changes in the gravitational forces acting on them. In time, this completely changes the structure of the two (or more) colliding galaxies, and sometimes ultimately results in a single, merged galaxy. That may well be what results from the collision pictured in this image. Galaxies that result from mergers are thought to have a regular or elliptical structure, as the merging process disrupts more complex structures (such as those observed in spiral galaxies). It would be fascinating to know what Arp 122 will look like once this collision is complete . . . but that will not happen for a long, long time. [Image Description: Two spiral galaxies are merging together at the right side of the image. One is seen face-on and is circular in shape. The other seems to lie in front of the first one. This galaxy is seen as a disc tilted away from the viewer and it is partially warped. In the lower-left corner, cut off by the frame, a large elliptical galaxy appears as light radiating from a point. Various small galaxies cover the background.] Credits: ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Dalcanton, Dark Energy Survey/DOE/FNAL/DECam/CTIO/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA; CC BY 4.0 Acknowledgement: L. Shatz

[mysticstronomy]

MERGING SUPERMASSIVE BLACK HOLES EMIT THE MOST ENERGY OF ALL!!

Blog#291

Wednesday, April 26th, 2023

Welcome back,

Back in 2020, NASA’s Chandra X-ray observatory made history by announcing the most energetic explosive event ever discovered in the Universe. In a galaxy cluster some 390 million light-years away, a supermassive black hole emitted a jet that created an enormous cavity in the intergalactic space of that galaxy cluster.

The total amount of energy required to create this observed phenomenon? 5 × 1054 J: more energy to occur in any singular event ever seen since humanity first began studying the Universe. Only the Big Bang itself, which contains all of the energy within the entire Universe by definition, was more energetic.

But there’s another class of event that definitely exists in the Universe that can output even more energy in a shorter amount of time: the merger of two supermassive black holes. Although we’ve never seen such an event, it’s only a matter of time and technology until one reveals itself to us. When it does, the old record-holder will be shattered, possibly by an enormous amount. Here’s how.

There are lots of events that can be considered either explosions or cataclysms in the natural Universe, where a large amount of energy is released over a short period of time. A very massive star that reaches the end of its life will explode in a cataclysmic type II supernova, creating either a black hole or neutron star as a stellar corpse. Over the final few seconds of its life, it will release some ~1044 J of energy, with hypernovae (or superluminous supernovae) reaching up to or even over 100 times that “typical” amount.

For a long time, supernovae were used as the standard by which all other cataclysms were measured. As the brightest electromagnetic events in the sky, they could outshine entire galaxies, dependent on their individual brightnesses and the overall mass of the galaxy in question.

This illustration of superluminous supernova SN 1000+0216, the most distant supernova ever observed at a redshift of z=3.90, from when the Universe was just 1.6 billion years old, is the current record-holder for individual supernovae in terms of distance.

In terms of brightness, it easily outshines an entire galaxy; in terms of power, it can rival most of the stars in the Universe, all combined together, for brief intervals.

The only things that rivaled or exceeded the energy released in a supernova were gamma-ray bursts or larger-scale, extended events such as merging galaxies or galaxy clusters, or supermassive black holes feeding on enormous amounts of matter. During the 2010s, we uncovered the origin of at least some gamma-ray bursts: kilonovae, or the merging of two neutron stars.

Between gravitational waves and electromagnetic radiation, a significant amount of mass — about ~1029 kilograms worth, or around 5% of a solar mass  — gets converted into pure energy, leading to an energy release of about 1046 J.

On the other extreme, active galaxies and quasars can be even more energetic. Enormous amounts of mass, perhaps millions or even billions of solar masses worth, can get funneled into a central, supermassive black hole, where it gets torn apart, accreted, and accelerated. The matter and radiation emitted can reach a total of ~1054 J of energy, although it’s emitted over about a million years (or more) in time, making it a high energy but low power event.

But the Universe gives us a way to emit even larger amounts of energy, and to do so on much shorter timescales. The key to unlocking this came last decade, when the NSF’s Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) direct detected the first gravitational wave event: from two merging black holes. For the very first one ever seen, two black holes of two different masses (36 and 29 Suns’ worth, respectively) merged together to produce a final-state black hole of a lesser (62 Suns’ worth) mass.

This was an enormously big deal, netting a number of scientists the 2017 Nobel Prize for the discovery of gravitational waves. Over the subsequent years, many more black hole-black hole mergers and merger candidates have been detected, with approximately 100 known so far (to date), and many more are expected in the new and upcoming runs of LIGO, Virgo, and KAGRA

humanity’s greatest gravitational wave detector array. In all cases, the same bizarre and fascinating behavior has been observed: large amounts of mass are converted into pure energy over a timescale of just a few milliseconds, or the final moments of the inspiral-and-merger of black holes.

Originally published on big thing.com

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