Centaurus A, a bright galaxy in southern skies, once bemused scientists with its shape, now known to result from elliptical and spiral galaxies merging. The European Southern Observatory’s 2.2m telescope has now given the deepest image yet. Young stars and hydrogen-rich star-forming areas lie at the ends of the central “dust lane”.
McGonagall: And Potter… it’s good to see you.
Harry: It’s good to see you too, Professor.
Via Your life is calling, will you pick it up?
Pulsar heavyweight champ challenges Einstein
The densest objects in the universe have a new heavyweight champion: a pulsar so small that it could nearly fit onto the island of Manhattan but weighs in at 2.04 times the mass of the sun. The pulsar could be used to help test Einstein’s theory of general relativity – but its very existence could put that theory in jeopardy.
Pulsars are rapidly spinning stellar corpses that sweep the sky with a lighthouse-like beam of radio waves as they spin. The fastest pulsars are in binary systems with another object, like a star or a white dwarf. The pulsar quickens its spin by stealing material from its companion. This arrangement can continue for billions of years before the two objects collide and merge.
