Ethereal Orange Glow Radiates From Heart of Stellar Forge

Galaxy NGC 1792 Stellar Forge

Galaxy NGC 1792 captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, J. Lee, Acknowledgement: Leo Shatz

An orange glow radiates from the center of NGC 1792, the heart of this stellar forge. Captured by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, this intimate view of NGC 1792 gives us some insight into this galactic powerhouse. The vast swathes of tell-tale blue seen throughout the galaxy indicate areas that are full of young, hot stars, and it is in the shades of orange, seen nearer the center, that the older, cooler stars reside.

Nestled in the constellation of Columba (The Dove), NGC 1792 is both a spiral galaxy, and a starburst galaxy. Within starburst galaxies, stars are forming at comparatively exorbitant rates. The rate of star formation can be more than 10 times faster in a starburst galaxy than in the Milky Way. When galaxies have a large reservoir of has, like NGC 1792, these short-lived starburst phases can be sparked by galactic events such as mergers and tidal interactions.

Columba Constellation Chart

IAU Columba chart. Credit: IAU and Sky & Telescope magazine (Roger Sinnott & Rick Fienberg) CC BY 3.0

One might think that these starburst galaxies would easily consume all of their gas in our large forming event. However, supernova explosions and intense stellar winds produced in these powerful starbursts can inject energy into the gas and disperse it. This halts the star formation before it can completely deplete the galaxy of all its fuel. Scientists are actively working to understand this complex interplay between the dynamics that drive and quench these fierce bursts of star formation.

2 Comments on "Ethereal Orange Glow Radiates From Heart of Stellar Forge"

  1. that there orange glow
    it be dark energy and dark matter
    probably 25 million light year jet into outer intergalactic columba space
    and if you could get your camera
    to take a picture on the under side
    yall see the same column jet there glowing a an orange light

  2. that there orange glow
    it be dark energy and dark matter
    probably 25 million light year jet into outer intergalactic columba space
    and if you could get your camera
    to take a picture on the under side
    you will discover another orange glow 25 million light years into the opposite side on columbas intergalactic space
    yall see the same column jet there glowing a an orange light

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