 |
| Messier 101 also known as the Pinwheel Galaxy. The above image was taken in 2015 using the Bradford Robotic Telescope, the Galaxy Camera using BVR and Ultra-violet filters. Light through the ultra violet filter was added in the blue channel. Young hot stars emit copious amounts of ultra violet radiation. |
M101 is a face on spiral galaxy, 21 million light years distant, with abundant hydrogen gas clouds which are being gravitationally compressed to create new stars. The bright blue areas in my above image clearly show these areas of star birth. M101 is similar to our own Milky Way but 70% larger. The Pinwheel Galaxy has a mass of approximately 103 billion times that of our Sun but strangely has a comparatively small black hole, between 20 and 30 times the mass of our Sun, at its centre. The black hole at the centre of the Milky Way is estimated to be equivalent to 4,100,000 solar masses.
Credits: Bradford Robotic Camera - now the Autonomous Robotic Telescope and Wikipedia.
No comments:
Post a Comment