Stargazer Snaps Amazing Photo of Deep Space Oasis

[Judi Lynn]

Stargazer Snaps Amazing Photo of Deep Space Oasis
by Nina Sen
Date: 21 May 2013 Time: 07:00 AM ET



Dwarf barred irregular galaxy, NGC 4214, appears like a dazzling pool of water in deep space in this beautiful night sky photo.

Astrophotographer Jeffrey O. Johnson took this photo between Feb. 13 and March 14, from Las Cruces, New Mexico. He used a Takahashi TOA-130F at f/7.7 telescope, Takahashi EM200 Temma II mount, QSI 540wsg @ -15C camera, Astrodon Tru-Balance I-Series LRGB Gen 2 filters and SX Lodestar guider.

Located approximately 10 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Canes Venatici, NGC 4214 is a dwarf barred spiral galaxy. This star-forming galaxy has faint, older star clusters as well as young, bright stars surrounded by clouds of gas and dust. This indicates NGC 4214 has experienced star formation for more than billions of years. A heart-shaped cavity lies at the center of the galaxy possibly caused by radiation from newborn stars.

http://www.space.com/21190-deep-space-oasis-galaxy-photo.html

[longship]

1. The scope is a fairly small one.

130 mm diameter == just over 5".

But it's a very high end refractor, not cheap. I used to have a 115mm of similar design but had to sell it to pay my property taxes.

At this aperture, this took some time to record this image, probably on multiple nights.

The camera is monochrome, about $4,000 and 4 Megapixels. To get color, you take exposures with different color filters and then layer them together with imaging software.

Nope, none of the shit at this level is cheap.

[Cha]

2. And, here we are!

thanks for the gorgeous pic in Space, Judi

[Peace Patriot]

3. That is a very disturbed spiral galaxy.

Quite beautiful but was crashed into by something, or came close to something, that distorted its bar (that white slash sort of in the middle) and seems to be pulling its arms apart. You can still make out the distinctive "S" shape of a young galaxy but the arms are fragmenting and pointing outward rather than pulling inward to a gravity center.

That small blue smudge in the far upper righthand corner at about 2 o'clock from the galaxy may be the culprit disturber. Or, something bigger came by and broke off that fragment and bent the arms out. There is no other obvious culprit in the vicinity.

The galaxy may simply lack enough mass to attract more mass, and thus became a fragile bauble in a great sea of more powerful forces. Spiral galaxies that have a future (go on to become many-armed jewels like our Milky Way) have a more symmetrical form--a perfect "S" with tightly wound arms, and a straight, bright bar, and twirl through space accumulating debris and spinning off more arms that curl tightly around their gravity center.

This galaxy seems destined to become even more distorted and more dispersed and eventually may blink out, having run out of nuclear fuel, or may get absorbed by a bigger galaxy like the one that probably knocked the heck out of its symmetry.

I've done a lot of observation of galaxies in the Zooniverse galaxy shape project (cloud-sourcing, with human eyes needed to pick out ellipticals from spirals, etc.). I was dazzled by the prevalence of the "S" shape in numerous galaxies throughout our Universe. To myself, I called it "the wiggle of life." It is everywhere. And WHY? What causes matter to choose this shape, of many possible shapes, and as the one that we know leads to biological life and consciousness (of which we are our one known example, in our spiral galaxy)?

It is a profound puzzle. Worms. Snakes. Dragons. That seems to be at the heart of things. Matter wants to be a "S."

I felt rather maternal toward struggling 'little' "S" shapes like this one, as they tried to get their wheels going, some obviously failing, some going wildly astray into streaking oblivion, some getting knocked all around by more powerful galaxies (or forces unknown), their matter getting bled off and streaming into bigger brightnesses. I felt cheered when I saw the perfect "S"'s with tight arms and strong bars and nice bulges of blazing matter in the middle, going about the business of becoming big galaxies. And I felt pity--maternal pity--at the distorted "S"'s that weren't going to make it.

Odd being human, and having the immense privilege of looking at the fabulous elements of our Universe, and not being able to help projecting human feelings onto it all.

[appacom]

6. Such a privilege to read you.

Thank you for grabbing my interest with both hands. Can't wait to read more of your posts, and to search for more info on the galaxy. At 65, this thirst to learn is rare. You rock. Thanks again.

[Peace Patriot]

7. You're welcome! I love the Galaxy Zoo projects.

They have need for many human eyes looking at objects in the zillions of new images from telescopes like Hubble. There are just too many for astronomers to sift through. Human eyes discern things that computer programs cannot pick out. And what they do is average the results. If a scientist has a particular need to look at, say, distorted spirals, or spirals with three arms, they pick out the images that most participants have identified as distorted spirals or three-armed spirals, as the database for the scientist. Thus, you can't make mistakes. Others will override you if you make a mistake and mis-identify a type of spiral or any other object.

THAT'S fun--not worrying about making mistakes.

Also fun: You may be looking at an image of our Universe that no human has ever set eyes on before. That CAN happen.

And even ordinary participants, who are no more knowledgeable about astronomy than I am (and I am very ignorant) can make discoveries and can bring them to the attention of the scientific community.

Here is the original Galaxy Zoo project--the classification of galaxies, still under way, with 150,000 participants in the first year of the project alone.

http://www.galaxyzoo.org/

Currently, I'm doing the 'Bubble' project, a study of our own galaxy, found here:
http://www.milkywayproject.org/

You are presented with an often spectacularly beautiful and colorful section of our Milky Way where intense star creation is taking place. There are some really bizarre objects in these parts of our galaxy--utterly dazzling green snakes of matter (called "green knots&quot , mysterious deep red globules or clouds (called "fuzzy red objects&quot , intensely bright, dense balls of light (called "yellow balls&quot , "dark nebulae" (streaks of utter black, in the midst of the dazzling stuff), and you are asked to draw bubbles--that is, to use tools provided to detect and draw circles over areas of the image wherein these elements are carving out a curved, bubble-like space.

"Something" is triggering the movement of these dazzling elements into circular ("bubble&quot form. Scientists are studying this phenomenon, and want to know the numbers, shapes and types of bubblies that the human eye can perceive in a given segment of space.

Some of the bubbles are empty--something is forcing the visible matter out of a circular area, leaving a dark bubble that you draw a blank circle around. Others are bulges of light-reflecting matter in bubble form over which you draw an opaque circle. Some are large; some are very small. Some are not circular but oval. You draw their outlines, as well as identifying those bizarre and beautiful objects I mentioned above.

The tools are quite good--flexible, versatile, allowing creativity. You can save "favorites" and create your own museum of galactic wonders.

When all these dazzling colors and bizarre and mysterious shapes come together in one image, you just gape in wonder. Our galaxy is so incredibly beautiful.

We are told that we are looking at star formation. I think we may be looking at the creation--that is, the generation--of matter. Matter from nothing. Matter because it moves. And I do mean this as a Zen koan. Because I have NO IDEA what is happening in these jaw-dropping, flabbergasting, humongous chunks of staggeringly beautiful broiling energy in which THINGS are happening--a jet black streak pierces through the light, and that seems to make the light "bubble"; what is the jet black streak? where does it come from? why does it exist? what is it doing? it seems to be nothing--the absence of anything; yet it seems to influence the light-reflecting green, or red, or yellow matter, curving it.

There are so many things like this that are utterly mysterious and wonderful--and you just keep doodling the bubbles in it. Great project!

You can go to the "talk" venues, if you want to, and get explanations or--more often--the guesses of experts or others. Experts are often looking at these things for the first time, too.

I'm mostly content with just looking and drawing--and adding my "bubble" perceptions to the many in "the cloud."

[appacom]

8. Thanks so much!

I've shared the links and your comments with my 15 year old grandson. Your gift keeps giving.

[tclambert]

4. Can't Scarlett Johansson go anywhere without you paparazzi harassing her?

[Blue Owl]

5. Champagne Supernova

n/t