Bellatrix Orionis

X-ray: NASA/CXC/U.Waterloo/C.Kirkpatrick et al.; Radio: NSF/NRAO/VLA; Optical: Canada-France-Hawaii-Telescope/DSS

Check out this fantastic composite image of the Hydra A galaxy cluster.  The gas jets, observed by Chandra are super hot (approx ten million degrees) with radio emissions in pink which the Very Large Array (VLA) spotted.

It’s thought that some of the elements found in the jet had been produced in a Type Ia supernova in the large galaxy at the centre of the cluster.  It’s then thought that an outburst from the supermassive black hole then pushed the material outwards extending for almost 400,000 light years.

The outburst from the supermassive black hole also have created spaces, or cavities within the hot gas.  A fairly recent outburst created a pair of cavities visible in the image as dark regions.  The cavities are so large that it would be possible to put the Milky Way galaxy inside them.  There are even larger cavities, which are too faint to be visible in this image created by more powerful earlier tantrums from the black hole.  The largest cavity discovered so far extends for more than 670,000 light years.

Image Credit: NASA/Swift/Stefan Immler (GSFC) and Erin Grand (UMCP)

A fantastic image of M31 in Andromeda taken by NASA’s Swift satellite.  The image consists of 330 individual images combined to create this spectacular view taken in ultraviolet.

Image taken with SLOOH telescope

Just had to share this fabulous image of M51, the Whirlpool Galaxy(NGC 5194).  It’s approximately 25 million lightyears from us, so in effect we’re looking back in time (as with most astronomical objects).  It’s apparent magnitude is +8.1 so you’ll need at the very least a pair of binoculars to view it and can be found in Canes Venatici.

It’s categorised as an Sbc, which is a spiral galaxy and due to its position we are able to view it face on.  This was the first galaxy that the spiral structure was seen clearly in and it was observed by the Third Earl of Rosse, William Parson during 1845.  He used the 72 inch reflecting telescope that he’d built in the grounds of Birr Castle, which became known as the leviathon as it was the largest telescope in the world at the time.