I noticed that I shot this target a year ago on a better night. So I stacked the two nights together for a total of 122 subs. Smoothed things out a lot.
(As posted for non astronomy friends—)
An Elegant Ending for Galaxy Season
Galaxy M109 brings to mind 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘣𝘦 waltz, just as applied so effectively to a scene in the movie 2001: 𝘈 𝘚𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘖𝘥𝘺𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘺.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZoSYsNADtYPinwheeling through space with the greatest of ease! The Galaxy is also known as the “Vacuum Cleaner Galaxy,” presumably because its spirals look similar to some kind of brush attachment.
Hmm, doesn't that name take away from its elegance a bit? But hey, the galaxy is packed with dust, so maybe the name fits.
M109 was found by Pierre Méchain in 1781. Shortly afterwards, Charles Messier added it to his now famous catalog of 110 objects. It's located in the northern constellation Ursa Major. The galaxy is 67 million light years away from our own. This means what we're seeing now is like a snapshot from the time when dinosaurs bit the dust.
But don’t let its serene appearance fool you, as M109 has a few satellite galaxies. The significance? These are often the small remnants of galaxies that had the misfortune to pass through a larger galaxy, losing much of their mass. What's left is often pulled back and eventually absorbed, too, the black holes making a beeline for the larger supermassive nucleus.
Notice how the spirals seem to be straight for a moment as they radiate from the nucleus, before curving into a more familiar shape? Galaxies showing this artifact are called “barred” galaxies. The spirals may have come more directly from the center at one time; the “bars” can actually come and go, but, in general, tend to form as galaxies age.
If I understand their description of the physics, scientists think a galaxy gets big enough that its supermassive black hole starts to draw the outgoing spirals back into the center, causing the nearest to collapse inward. That's why you see those straight bars forming; it's like a crazy dance of energy flowing in and out of the nucleus. The gravitational friction is tremendous and radiation intense. New stars are formed and the central region glows brighter that ever.
What is old is new again.
And, as you can clearly tell, I will never teach physics.
Astronomers think our Milky Way is also barred. Lucky for us, we're far from the center, so we're not feeling the pull.
As my headline suggests, this view outside the Milky Way is about to go away for several months. As our planet continues around the Sun, Earth's tilted axis is slowly favoring an internal view of our own galaxy. It's a cycle that keeps astronomers constantly excited, as they are presented with a parade of “new” targets throughout the year. This excites hobbyists, like me, too.
The universe unfolds in slow motion, making all of its activity seem graceful.That’s why I’m kicking back, listening to 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘶𝘣𝘦, and writing down my thoughts. Johann Strauss II totally got that tranquil river vibe, whether it be flowing with water or stardust.
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