Galaxy M101: an ultraviolet portrait.Clusters of hot, young stars flaunt flaunt v. flaunt·ed, flaunt·ing, flaunts v.tr. 1. To exhibit ostentatiously or shamelessly: flaunts his knowledge. See Synonyms at show. 2. their brilliance in the first far-ultraviolet photograph ever taken of the spiral galaxy M101 (top). NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. released the picture, taken March 9 by the Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (UIT UIT Union Internationale des Télécommunications UIT Unit Investment Trust UIT Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope UIT União Internacional das Telecomunicações (Portugal) UIT University of Information Technology ), late last week. The telescope, one of three ultraviolet instruments collectively known as Astro 2, flew aboard the space shuttle for 16 days last month. Observations in the far ultraviolet require the vantage point of space because Earth's atmosphere blocks most of the radiation at these short wavelengths from reaching the ground. Several of the young, massive star clusters -- marked by arrows -- rival entire dwarf galaxies in size. The brightest cluster (lower left arrow) may have been forged in a collision between M101 and another galaxy. The young stellar groupings stand out sharply in the far ultraviolet because they glow brightly at short wavelengths, whereas most older, cooler stars do not, notes UIT principal investigator Theodore P. Stecher of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) is a major NASA space research laboratory established on May 1, 1959 as NASA's first space flight center. GSFC employs approximately 10,000 civil servants and contractors, and is located approximately 6.5 miles northeast of Washington, D.C. in Greenbelt, Md. In contrast, the galaxy's center appears fuzzier in the visible- light image of M101 taken from the ground (bottom) -- even though this image is as sharp as the ultraviolet picture. This fuzziness stems from the large, diffuse mix of old and young stars that radiate ra·di·ate v. 1. To spread out in all directions from a center. 2. To emit or be emitted as radiation. ra in visible light. Susan G. Neff of the Goddard Space Flight Center notes that in several of the UIT images, ultraviolet light Ultraviolet light A portion of the light spectrum not visible to the eye. Two bands of the UV spectrum, UVA and UVB, are used to treat psoriasis and other skin diseases. emitted by galactic star clusters scatters off dust lurking behind them. By revealing the hidden dust, the images will aid astronomers in estimating the total amount of unseen, or dark, matter that galaxies harbor. |
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