ALMA untersucht eine kosmische Qualle
Mit den scharfen Augen des Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) und des Very Large Telescope (VLT) der ESO haben Astronomen die auffälligen Tentakel einer kosmischen Qualle untersucht: eine Reihe knotiger Gasstreifen, die von der Spiralgalaxie ESO 137-001 ausgehen.
Das Bild zeigt das himmlische Nesseltier in prachtvollem Detail. Die verschiedenen Bestandteile des Bildes wurden dabei mit unterschiedlichen Teleskopen aufgenommen: Die Galaxie und ihre Umgebung hat das NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope fotografiert; die Tentakel hingegen, die aus faserartigen Strukturen aus Wasserstoffgas besteht und in hellem Violett leuchtet, kommen vom MUSE-Instrument am VLT und die hellen Flecken aus leuchtendem Kohlendioxid innerhalb des Systems, die in hellem Orange-Rot erscheinen, wurden von ALMA beigesteuert.
Die Tentakel werden durch ein dramatisches Phänomen erzeugt, das unter Fachleuten als „Ram-pressure stripping“ bekannt ist. Der Raum zwischen den Galaxien eines Haufens ist nicht ganz leer, sondern erfüllt von Materie, die wie eine zähe Flüssigkeit agiert. Wenn Galaxien dieses resistente Medium durchqueren, wird ihnen Gas entrissen, das dann eine Wirbelschleppe bildet, mit herrlichen verschlungenen Strukturen wie man sie hier bei ESO 137-001 (Mitglied des Norma-Galaxienhaufens) erkennen kann. Die Richtung und Lage der Tentakel geben Aufschluss über die Bewegungsrichtung der Galaxie – wobei die Galaxien meist in Richtung des Haufenzentrums fallen.
Dieses Bild liefert die erste hoch aufgelöste Darstellung das kalten molekularen Gases, das sich in einem System befindet, bei dem wir Ram-pressure stripping beobachten. ESO 137-001 ist eine der Erde am nächsten stehende Quallengalaxie und ist deshalb so interessant, da ihre langen, auslandende Tentakel aus Gas Strukturen enthält, die man als Feuerball bezeichnet: Knoten verstärkter Sternentstehung. Die genauen Mechanismen, wie Sterne in den Tentakeln von Quallengalaxien entstehen, sind noch ungeklärt und diese Darstellung bietet uns daher ein neues Fenster zu den Bedingungen, die für die Sternentstehung in solchen extremen, veränderlichen Umgebungen erforderlich sind.
Die ALMA-Anlage besteht aus 66 Antennen und befindet sich auf dem Chajnantor-Plateau in der chilenischen Atacama-Wüste auf einer Höhe von 5000 Metern. ALMA beobachtet den Himmel von dieser abgelegenen Region aus, um die Geheimnisse der Entstehung und Entwicklung des Universums zu lüften – unter anderem auch so eigenartigen und grazilen Objekten wie ESO 137-001 – und um mehr über unseren kosmischen Ursprung zu erfahren.
Bildnachweis:ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), P. Jachym (Czech Academy of Sciences) et al.
Über das Bild
| ID: | potw1939a |
| Sprache: | de-at |
| Typ: | Beobachtung |
| Veröffentlichungsdatum: | 30. September 2019 06:00 |
| Größe: | 3350 x 2291 px |
Über das Objekt
| Name: | ESO 137-001 |
| Typ: | Local Universe : Galaxy : Type : Spiral |
| Constellation: | Triangulum Australe |
Bildschirm-Hintergrundbilder
Koordinaten
| Position (RA): | 16 13 24.01 |
| Position (Dec): | -60° 45' 32.08" |
| Field of view: | 2.79 x 1.91 arcminutes |
| Orientierung: | Die Nordrichtung liegt 80.9° rechts zur Vertikale |
Farben & Filter
| Spektralbereich | Wellenlänge | Teleskop |
|---|---|---|
| Optisch U | 275 nm | Hubble Space Telescope WFC3 |
| Optisch g | 475 nm | Hubble Space Telescope ACS |
| Millimeter CO21 | 1.32 mm | Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array Band 6 |
| Optisch I | 814 nm | Hubble Space Telescope ACS |
| Optisch H-alpha | 656 nm | Very Large Telescope MUSE |
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