April 13, 2015 - Galactic Heartburn

Galactic Heartburn The Atacama Large Millimeter/sub-millimeter Array (ALMA), a powerful array of radio telescopes in Chile, has glimpsed the telltale signs of acid reflux on a galactic scale. Supermassive black holes (SMBH)—with masses up to several billion Suns—lurk in the hearts of almost all galaxies. Early in their lives, SMBHs swallowed enormous amounts of surrounding matter  and expelled tiny fractions of it back in the form of extremely powerful jets. Nowadays, most SMBHs are much less active than in their youth, but the interplay between jets and their surroundings still shapes galaxy evolution. In this ALMA image of the core of galaxy NGC 1433, a bright jet of material regurgitated by the SMBH extends 150 light-years, the smallest outflow ever seen in an external galaxy.

Image Credit: ALMA (ESO / NAOJ / NRAO) / NASA / ESA / F. Combes

Weekly Calendar

April 13-19, 2015

Holidays - Sky Events - Space History

 

Monday 13

Tuesday 14

1629: Christiaan Huygens born
1972: KSC and Vandenberg AFB picked as shuttle launch sites
2005: Expedition 11 crew launched to International Space Station

Wednesday 15

Neptune 4° south of Moon

1999: Landsat 7 launched

Thursday 16

1867: Wilbur Wright born
1946: First captured V2 rocket launched from White Sands, NM
1965: First test-firing of Saturn V rocket first stage (S-IC)
1972: Apollo 16 launched

Friday 17

Moon at perigee
Pluto appears stationary

1967: Surveyor 3 launched
1969: First X-24A lifting body glide test
1970: Apollo 13 crew returns to Earth
1998: STS-90 Columbia launched

Saturday 18

New Moon 2:57 PM ET

2014: LADEE spacecraft intentionally crashed into Moon at end of mission

Sunday 19

Pallas appears stationary

1967: Surveyor 3 lands on Moon
1971: Salyut 1 launched, first space station.
1982: Salyut 7 launched
1993: 200th Soviet / Russian spacewalk
2001: STS-100 Endeavour launched