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Monster Black Holes Grow After Galactic Mergers
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By NASA
X-ray: NASA/CXC/Northwestern Univ./F. Yusef-Zadeh et al; Radio: NRF/SARAO/MeerKat; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk Astronomers have discovered a likely explanation for a fracture in a huge cosmic “bone” in the Milky Way galaxy, using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and radio telescopes.
The bone appears to have been struck by a fast-moving, rapidly spinning neutron star, or pulsar. Neutron stars are the densest known stars and form from the collapse and explosion of massive stars. They often receive a powerful kick from these explosions, sending them away from the explosion’s location at high speeds.
Enormous structures resembling bones or snakes are found near the center of the galaxy. These elongated formations are seen in radio waves and are threaded by magnetic fields running parallel to them. The radio waves are caused by energized particles spiraling along the magnetic fields.
X-ray: NASA/CXC/Northwestern Univ./F. Yusef-Zadeh et al; Radio: NRF/SARAO/MeerKat; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/N. Wolk This new image shows one of these cosmic “bones” called G359.13142-0.20005 (G359.13 for short), with X-ray data from Chandra (colored blue) and radio data from the MeerKAT radio array in South Africa (colored gray). Researchers also refer to G359.13 as the Snake.
Examining this image closely reveals the presence of a break, or fracture, in the otherwise continuous length of G359.13 seen in the image. The combined X-ray and radio data provides clues to the cause of this fracture.
Astronomers have now discovered an X-ray and radio source at the location of the fracture, using the data from Chandra and MeerKAT and the National Science Foundation’s Very Large Array. A likely pulsar responsible for these radio and X-ray signals is labeled. A possible extra source of X-rays located near the pulsar may come from electrons and positrons (the anti-matter counterparts to electrons) that have been accelerated to high energies.
The researchers think the pulsar likely caused the fracture by smashing into G359.13 at a speed between one million and two million miles per hour. This collision distorted the magnetic field in the bone, causing the radio signal to also become warped.
At about 230 light-years long, G359.13 is one of the longest and brightest of these structures in the Milky Way. To put this into context, there are more than 800 stars within that distance from Earth. G359.13 is located about 26,000 light-years from Earth, near the center of the Milky Way.
A paper describing these results appeared in the May 2024 issue of the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society and is available here. The authors of the study are Farhad Yusuf-Zadeh (Northwestern University), Jun-Hui Zhao (Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian), Rick Arendt (University of Maryland, Baltimore County), Mark Wardle (Macquarie University, Australia), Craig Heinke (University of Alberta), Marc Royster (College of the Sequoias, California), Cornelia Lang (University of Iowa), and Joseph Michail (Northwestern).
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the Chandra program. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory’s Chandra X-ray Center controls science operations from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and flight operations from Burlington, Massachusetts.
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Visual Description
This release features two composite images of a long, thin, cosmic structure. With the structure’s vertical orientation, seemingly fragile dimensions, and pale grey color against the blackness of space, the images resemble medical X-rays of a long, thin, bone. The main image shows the structure in its entirety. The inset image is an annotated close-up highlighting an apparent fracture in the bone-like structure.
The structure, called G359.13, or “The Snake”, is a Galactic Center Filament. These filament formations are threaded by parallel magnetic fields, and spiraling, energized particles. The particles cause radio waves, which can be detected by radio arrays, in this case by the MeerKAT array in South Africa.
In the first composite image, the largely straight filament stretches from the top to the bottom of the vertical frame. At each end of the grey filament is a hazy grey cloud. The only color in the image is neon blue, found in a few specks which dot the blackness surrounding the structure. The blue represents X-rays seen by NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory.
In the annotated close-up, one such speck appears to be interacting with the structure itself. This is a fast-moving, rapidly spinning neutron star, otherwise known as a pulsar. Astronomers believe that this pulsar has struck the filament halfway down its length, distorting the magnetic field and radio signal.
In both images, this distortion resembles a small break, or spur, in the bone-like filament.
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Megan Watzke
Chandra X-ray Center
Cambridge, Mass.
617-496-7998
mwatzke@cfa.harvard.edu
Lane Figueroa
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama
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lane.e.figueroa@nasa.gov
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By NASA
Curiosity Navigation Curiosity Home Mission Overview Where is Curiosity? Mission Updates Science Overview Instruments Highlights Exploration Goals News and Features Multimedia Curiosity Raw Images Images Videos Audio Mosaics More Resources Mars Missions Mars Sample Return Mars Perseverance Rover Mars Curiosity Rover MAVEN Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Odyssey More Mars Missions Mars Home 3 min read
Sols 4525-4526: The Day After Groundhog Day (Between Ghost Mountain and Texoli, Headed South)
NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity acquired this image showing ChemCam/Mastcam targets “Breeze Hill” and “Laguna Mountain,” together with a rover wheel planted firmly on the Martian surface. Curiosity captured the image using its Left Navigation Camera on April 27, 2025 — Sol 4523, or Martian day 4,523 of the Mars Science Laboratory mission — at 13:23:32 UTC. NASA/JPL-Caltech Written by Lucy Lim, Planetary Scientist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Earth planning date: Monday, April 28, 2025
Curiosity is back on the road! For sols 4525 and 4526, we have an isolated nominal plan in which the communication pass timing works out in such a way that the rover can fit in fully targeted science blocks on both sols rather than just the first sol. So in this power-hungry Martian winter season, we’re in a good position to take advantage of the power saved up during the missed uplink.
The weekend drive went well and delivered the rover into a stable, arm-work-compatible position in a workspace with rock targets that we could brush with the DRT. Happy days! The DRT/APXS/MAHLI measurements will bring us geochemical and rock texture data from local bedrock blocks “Bradshaw Trail” and “Sweetwater River.” Further geochemical information will come from the ChemCam LIBS rasters on a more coarsely layered target, “Breeze Hill,” and an exposed layer expressing both polygonal features and a vein or coating of dark-toned material, “Laguna Mountain.”
Long-distance imaging with the ChemCam RMI included a mosaic to add to our coverage of the boxwork sedimentary features of the type Curiosity will soon be exploring in situ. A second RMI mosaic was planned to cover a truncated sedimentary horizon on the Texoli butte that may provide further evidence of ancient aeolian scouring events. Meanwhile, the “Morrell Potrero” Mastcam mosaic will provide some detail on the base of the boxwork-bearing “Ghost Mountain” butte and on a ridge nearby. In the drive direction, the “Garnet Peak” mosaic will capture some potentially new rock textures and colors in the upcoming strata.
Nearer-field imaging in the plan includes Mastcam documentation of some troughs that provide evidence for sand and dust movement in response to the modern aeolian environment. Additionally Mastcam mosaics went to “Breeze Hill” (covering the LIBS target) and “Live Oak” to document variations in bedding, color, and texture in the nearby bedrock.
A few observations of the modern environment were scheduled for the afternoon: a phase function sky survey to look for scattered light from thin water-ice clouds and a separate set of cloud altitude observations.
Finally, a Mastcam documentation image was planned for the AEGIS LIBS target from the weekend plan! This reflects an update to the rover’s capability in which the AEGIS target can be determined and downlinked in time for the decisional downlink pass, so that we know where to look for it during the next planning cycle.
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By USH
Several days ago, a massive blackout swept across large parts of Spain, Portugal, and parts of southern France. Millions were left without power as the interconnected European energy grid experienced a rare and abrupt failure. While authorities quickly pointed to a "rare atmospheric phenomenon" as the cause, not everyone is convinced.
Here are some explanations of authorities as well as controversial theories:
According to REN, Portugal’s national electricity grid operator, the blackout was triggered by a fault originating in Spain’s power infrastructure. The disruption, they claim, was linked to "induced atmospheric variation", a term referring to extreme temperature differences that led to anomalous oscillations in high-voltage transmission lines. These oscillations reportedly caused synchronization failures between regional grid systems, ultimately sparking a chain reaction of failures across the European network.
What makes the situation even more intriguing is that just days before the blackout, Spain hit a historic energy milestone. On April 16, for the first time, the country’s electricity demand was met entirely by renewable energy sources - solar, wind, and hydro, during a weekday. It raises questions whether the outage was caused by a technical failure of this new renewable energy system.
While this achievement is noteworthy, it also exposes the fragility of a grid increasingly reliant on variable energy sources, especially solar, which can fluctuate dramatically with weather and atmospheric conditions.
Despite official explanations, some experts and observers remain skeptical. There were no solar flares or geomagnetic storms in the days leading up to the blackout, and solar activity had been relatively calm. Critics argue that while atmospheric disturbances may have played a role, they are not sufficient to explain such a widespread, synchronized failure.
Despite the fact that the blackout this time was probably not caused by solar flares or geomagnetic storms it has been proven that Earth’s magnetic shield is rapidly weakening, leaving us increasingly vulnerable to powerful solar storms. The magnetic north pole is accelerating toward Siberia, and the South Atlantic Anomaly continues to expand, ominous signs that a looming plasma event could bring consequences far beyond just technological disruption.
This has led to speculation that the blackout could have been intentional, possibly even a test run for handling future crises or threats to infrastructure.
Among the more controversial theories is the suggestion that this event might have involved the use of a graphite bomb, a non-lethal weapon designed to disable power grids. These devices disperse ultra-fine carbon filaments into high-voltage power lines, causing short circuits by creating conductive paths between lines. Such an attack would appear as a grid malfunction but could be devastating in scale.
Another controversial theory is that the outage has been caused by weather manipulation systems such as HAARP or the Ice Cube Neutrino observatory, constructed at the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station in Antarctica.
Could this have been a covert drill or a demonstration of vulnerability? Some point to global forums, such as the World Government Summit, where figures like Klaus Schwab have warned about Black Swan: An unpredictable event that is beyond what is normally expected of a situation and has potentially severe consequences.
Whether the blackout was triggered by a rare natural event, a technical failure, or something more deliberate, it seems only a matter of time before we face a true Black Swan event. View the full article
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By NASA
Explore Hubble Hubble Home Overview About Hubble The History of Hubble Hubble Timeline Why Have a Telescope in Space? Hubble by the Numbers At the Museum FAQs Impact & Benefits Hubble’s Impact & Benefits Science Impacts Cultural Impact Technology Benefits Impact on Human Spaceflight Astro Community Impacts Science Hubble Science Science Themes Science Highlights Science Behind Discoveries Hubble’s Partners in Science Universe Uncovered Explore the Night Sky Observatory Hubble Observatory Hubble Design Mission Operations Missions to Hubble Hubble vs Webb Team Hubble Team Career Aspirations Hubble Astronauts News Hubble News Social Media Media Resources Multimedia Multimedia Images Videos Sonifications Podcasts e-Books Online Activities Lithographs Fact Sheets Posters Hubble on the NASA App Glossary More 35th Anniversary Online Activities 4 Min Read Hubble Provides New View of Galactic Favorite
NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image of the Sombrero Galaxy, also called Messier 104. Credits:
ESA/Hubble & NASA, K. Noll As part of ESA/Hubble’s 35th anniversary celebrations, the European Space Agency (ESA) is sharing a new image series revisiting stunning, previously released Hubble targets with the addition of the latest Hubble data and new processing techniques.
ESA/Hubble published a new image of NGC 346 as the first installment in the series. Now, they are revisiting a fan-favorite galaxy with new image processing techniques. The new image reveals finer detail in the galaxy’s disk, as well as more background stars and galaxies.
Over the past two decades, Hubble has released several images of the Sombrero Galaxy, including this well-known Hubble image from October 2003. In November 2024, the NASA/ESA/CSA James Webb Space Telescope also provided an entirely new perspective on this striking galaxy.
Located around 30 million light-years away in the constellation Virgo, the Sombrero Galaxy is instantly recognizable. Viewed nearly edge on, the galaxy’s softly luminous bulge and sharply outlined disk resemble the rounded crown and broad brim of the Mexican hat from which the galaxy gets its name.
NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image of the Sombrero Galaxy, also called Messier 104. ESA/Hubble & NASA, K. Noll Though packed with stars, the Sombrero Galaxy is surprisingly not a hotbed of star formation. Less than one solar mass of gas is converted into stars within the knotted, dusty disk of the galaxy each year. Even the galaxy’s central supermassive black hole, which at nine billion solar masses is more than 2,000 times more massive than the Milky Way’s central black hole, is fairly calm.
The galaxy is too faint to spot with the unaided eye, but it is readily viewable with a modest amateur telescope. Seen from Earth, the galaxy spans a distance equivalent to roughly one-third the diameter of the full Moon. The galaxy’s size on the sky is too large to fit within Hubble’s narrow field of view, so this image is actually a mosaic of several images stitched together.
One of the things that makes this galaxy especially notable is its viewing angle, which is inclined just six degrees off of the galaxy’s equator. From this vantage point, intricate clumps and strands of dust stand out against the brilliant white galactic nucleus and bulge, creating an effect not unlike Saturn and its rings — but on an epic galactic scale.
At the same time, this extreme angle makes it difficult to discern the structure of the Sombrero Galaxy. It’s not clear whether it’s a spiral galaxy, like our own Milky Way, or an elliptical galaxy. Curiously, the galaxy’s disk seems like a fairly typical disk for a spiral galaxy, and its spheroidal bulge and halo seem fairly typical for an elliptical galaxy — but the combination of the two components resembles neither a spiral nor an elliptical galaxy.
Researchers used Hubble to investigate the Sombrero Galaxy, measuring the metals (what astronomers call elements heavier than helium) in stars in the galaxy’s expansive halo. This type of measurement can help astronomers better understand a galaxy’s history, potentially revealing whether it merged with other galaxies in the past. In the case of the Sombrero Galaxy, extremely metal-rich stars in the halo point to a possible merger with a massive galaxy several billion years ago. An ancient galactic clash, hinted at by Hubble’s sensitive measurements, could explain the Sombrero Galaxy’s distinctive appearance.
The Hubble Space Telescope has been operating for over three decades and continues to make ground-breaking discoveries that shape our fundamental understanding of the universe. Hubble is a project of international cooperation between NASA and ESA (European Space Agency). NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope and mission operations. Lockheed Martin Space, based in Denver, also supports mission operations at Goddard. The Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, conducts Hubble science operations for NASA.
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Sombrero Galaxy
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Hubble’s Messier Catalog: M104 (Sombrero Galaxy)
Hubble easily resolves some of the Sombrero Galaxy’s roughly 2,000 globular clusters.
Beyond the Brim, Sombrero Galaxy’s Halo Suggests Turbulent Past
Surprising new data from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope suggests the smooth, settled “brim” of the Sombrero galaxy’s disk may be concealing a turbulent past.
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The Hubble Heritage Project released more than 65 images of dazzling celestial objects, including planets, dying stars, regions of star formation, clusters of stars, individual galaxies, and even clusters of galaxies.
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Last Updated Apr 16, 2025 Editor Andrea Gianopoulos Location NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Contact Media Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Greenbelt, Maryland
claire.andreoli@nasa.gov
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ESA/Hubble
bethany.downer@esahubble.org
Garching, Germany
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By NASA
Curiosity Navigation Curiosity Home Mission Overview Where is Curiosity? Mission Updates Science Overview Instruments Highlights Exploration Goals News and Features Multimedia Curiosity Raw Images Images Videos Audio Mosaics More Resources Mars Missions Mars Sample Return Mars Perseverance Rover Mars Curiosity Rover MAVEN Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Mars Odyssey More Mars Missions Mars Home 2 min read
Sols 4511-4512: Low energy after a big weekend?
This image was taken by Left Navigation Camera onboard NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity on Sol 4510 (2025-04-14 03:43:40 UTC). NASA/JPL-Caltech Written by Lauren Edgar, Planetary Geologist at USGS Astrogeology Science Center
Earth planning date: Monday, April 14, 2025
We all know the feeling: it’s Monday morning after a big weekend and you’re coming into the week wishing you’d had a little more time to rest and recharge. Well, Curiosity probably feels the same way today. Curiosity accomplished a lot over the weekend, including full contact science, a MAHLI stereo imaging test, testing the collection of ChemCam passive spectral data at the same time as data transmission with one of the orbiters, and some APXS and MAHLI calibration target activities, plus a long 57 m drive. It was great to see all of those activities in the plan and to see some great drive progress. But that means we’re a bit tight on power for today’s plan!
I was on shift as Long Term Planner today, and the team had to think carefully about science priorities to fit within our power limit for today’s plan, and how that will prepare us for the rest of the week. The team still managed to squeeze a lot of activities into today’s 2-sol plan. First, Curiosity will acquire Mastcam mosaics to investigate local stratigraphic relationships and diagenetic features. Then we’ll acquire some imaging to document the sandy troughs between bedrock blocks to monitor active surface processes. We’ll also take a Navcam mosaic to assess atmospheric dust. The science block includes a ChemCam LIBS observation on the bedrock target “Santa Margarita” and a long distance RMI mosaic of “Ghost Mountain” to look for possible boxwork structures. Then Curiosity will use the DRT, APXS and MAHLI to investigate the finely-laminated bedrock in our workspace at a target named “The Grotto.” We’ll also collect APXS and MAHLI data on a large nodule in the workspace named “Torrey Pines” (meanwhile the Torrey Pines here on Earth was shaking in today’s southern California earthquakes! All is well but it gave some of our team members an extra jolt of adrenaline right before the SOWG meeting). The second sol is focused on continuing our drive to the south and taking post-drive imaging to prepare for Wednesday’s plan.
Phew! Good job Curiosity, you made it through Monday.
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