哈勃太空望远镜
Eagle’s wings or galaxy 🦅?
This is IRAS 16399-0937, a galaxy hosting a double nucleus that is enshrouded in wings of dust clouds.
The nuclei are two distinct cores in the process of merging, which intensely radiates energy. This produces a megamaser, a phenomenon 100 million times brighter than a maser, which is essentially a laser that emits microwaves rather than visible light.
Hubble’s Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer was key to discovering these twin nuclei, with its excellent sensitivity, resolution, and field of view. The two components are over 11,000 light-years apart, but they are still interacting within the same cosmic gas and dust swirl.
Image description: A galaxy glowing with blue and yellow stars is wreathed by dark brown dust, all against black space.
Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, Acknowledgment: Judy Schmidt (Geckzilla)
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