Latest news with #EnricoCongiu
Yomiuri Shimbun
4 days ago
- Science
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Photo of Nearby Sculptor Galaxy Spans 65,000 Light Years
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Astronomers have revealed a nearby spiral galaxy in all its brilliant glory, shining in thousands of colors. The dazzling panoramic shot released on June 18 of the Sculptor galaxy by a telescope in Chile is so detailed that it's already serving as a star-packed map. Scientists used the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope to observe the galaxy for some 50 hours, stitching together more than 100 exposures to create the picture. The image spans 65,000 light-years, almost the entire galaxy. Sculptor — officially labeled NGC 253 — is considered a starburst galaxy, one heavy with stellar action. It's located 11 million light-years away in the Southern Hemisphere's constellation Sculptor, and easy to view with binoculars or small telescopes. 'The Sculptor galaxy is in a sweet spot,' the observatory's Enrico Congiu, who led the research, said in a statement. 'It is close enough that we can resolve its internal structure and study its building blocks with incredible detail, but at the same time, big enough that we can still see it as a whole system.' The more shades of color from stars, gas and dust in a galaxy, the more clues to their age, composition and motion, according to the scientists. Sculptor's latest snapshot contains thousands of colors — a glowing montage of purples, pinks and yellows — compared with just a handful for traditional pictures. The team has already discovered 500 planetary nebulae, clouds of gas and dust from dying stars that can serve as cosmic mile markers. Their research has been accepted for publication in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Astronomers capture the most intricate picture of a galaxy in a thousand colors ever seen
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Astronomers have obtained a stunning new image of the Sculptor Galaxy, painted in thousands of colors that reveals the intricacies of galactic systems. The incredible image of the galaxy — located around 11 million light-years away and also known as NGC 253 — was collected with the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) instrument of the Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile. In addition to providing a galaxy-wide view of the Sculptor Galaxy, the image shows intricate details of NGC 253. As such, it could help to reveal the finer details of the poorly understood and complex systems that are galaxies. "The Sculptor Galaxy is in a sweet spot," team leader Enrico Congiu of the Universidad de Chile said in a statement." It is close enough that we can resolve its internal structure and study its building blocks with incredible detail, but at the same time, big enough that we can still see it as a whole system." Covering 65,000 light-years of the 90,000-light-year-wide galaxy, zooming in on the finer details of the Sculptor Galaxy to create this image required 100 exposures collected over 50 hours of MUSE observing time. That effort was justified by the unprecedented detail revealed in the Sculptor Galaxy VLT image. Related: James Webb telescope unveils largest-ever map of the universe, spanning over 13 billion years "We can zoom in to study individual regions where stars form at nearly the scale of individual stars, but we can also zoom out to study the galaxy as a whole," said team member Kathryn Kreckel, from Heidelberg University in Germany. An initial examination of the image has already paid dividends for the team. Within the image, they have been able to discover 500 new planetary nebulae, shells of gas and dust that are ejected from stars like the sun after they "die" and enter a "puffed out" red giant phase. This is pretty extraordinary, because detections like this beyond the Milky Way and its immediate neighbors are fairly rare. "Beyond our galactic neighborhood, we usually deal with fewer than 100 detections per galaxy," said team member and Heidelberg University researcher Fabian Scheuermann. RELATED STORIES —Mars cozies up to one of the brightest stars in the sky in 'mind-blowing' conjunction photo —A 'new star' has exploded into the night sky — and you can see it from North America —Mysterious deep-space radio signals reveal location of the universe's 'missing matter' The planetary nebulae — which, despite the name, have nothing to do with planets — could bear fruit in the future, as they can be used by astronomers to make distance measurements. "Finding the planetary nebulae allows us to verify the distance to the galaxy — a critical piece of information on which the rest of the studies of the galaxy depend," explained team member and Ohio State University researcher Adam Leroy. That's not to say that the team is finished with this image of the Sculptor Galaxy just yet. The next step for the astronomers will be to explore how hot gas flows through NGC 253, changing composition and helping to create new stars. "How such small processes can have such a big impact on a galaxy whose entire size is thousands of times bigger is still a mystery," Congiu concluded. The team's research was published online June 18 in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. This article was originally published on
NDTV
21-06-2025
- Science
- NDTV
Pics: Nearby Sculptor Galaxy Revealed In Ultra-Detailed Galactic Image
Washington: The Sculptor galaxy is similar in many respects to our Milky Way. It is about the same size and mass, with a similar spiral structure. But while it is impossible to get a full view of the Milky Way from the vantage point of Earth because we are inside the galaxy, Sculptor is perfectly positioned for a good look. Astronomers have done just that, releasing an ultra-detailed image of the Sculptor galaxy on Wednesday obtained with 50 hours of observations using one of the world's biggest telescopes, the European Southern Observatory's Chile-based Very Large Telescope. The image shows Sculptor, also called NGC 253, in around 4,000 different colors, each corresponding to a specific wavelength in the optical spectrum. Because various galactic components emit light differently across the spectrum, the observations are providing information at unprecedented detail on the inner workings of an entire galaxy, from star formation to the motion of interstellar gas on large scales. Conventional images in astronomy offer only a handful of colors, providing less information. The researchers used the telescope's Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer, or MUSE, instrument. "NGC 253 is close enough that we can observe it in remarkable detail with MUSE, yet far enough that we can still see the entire galaxy in a single field of view," said astronomer Enrico Congiu, a fellow at the European Southern Observatory in Santiago, and lead author of research being published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. "In the Milky Way, we can achieve extremely high resolution, but we lack a global view since we're inside it. For more distant galaxies, we can get a global view, but not the fine detail. That's why NGC 253 is such a perfect target: it acts as a bridge between the ultra-detailed studies of the Milky Way and the large-scale studies of more distant galaxies. It gives us a rare opportunity to connect the small-scale physics with the big-picture view," Congiu said. Sculptor is about 11 million light-years from Earth, making it one of the closest big galaxies to the Milky Way. A light-year is the distance light travels in a year, 5.9 trillion miles (9.5 trillion km). Like the Milky Way, it is a barred spiral galaxy, meaning it has an elongated structure extending from its nucleus, with spiral arms extending from the ends of the bar. Its diameter of about 88,000 light-years is similar to the Milky Way's, as is its total mass. One major difference is Sculptor's rate of new star formation, estimated to be two to three times greater than that of the Milky Way. Nearly 30% of this star formation is happening near the galaxy's nucleus in what is called a starburst region, as revealed in colorful emissions shown in the new image. The observations have given information on a wide range of properties such as the motion, age and chemical composition of stars and the movement of interstellar gas, an important component of any galaxy. "Since the light from stars is typically bluer if the stars are young or redder if the stars are old, having thousands of colors lets us learn a lot about what stars and populations of stars exist in the galaxy," said astronomer Kathryn Kreckel of Heidelberg University in Germany, a study co-author. "Similarly for the gas, it glows in specific bright emission lines at very specific colors, and tells us about the different elements that exist in the gas, and what is causing it to glow," Kreckel said. The initial research being published from the observations involves planetary nebulae, which are luminous clouds of gas and dust expelled by certain dying stars. Despite their name, they have nothing to do with planets. These nebulae can help astronomers measure the precise distances of faraway galaxies. The researchers marveled at the scientific and aesthetic value of the new view of Sculptor. "I personally find these images amazing," Congiu said. "What amazes me the most is that every time I look at them, I notice something new - another nebula, a splash of unexpected color or some subtle structure that hints at the incredible physics behind it all."
Indian Express
21-06-2025
- Science
- Indian Express
Zooming into the stars: Most vivid image of the Sculptor Galaxy revealed
The space is vast and empty, but it is also full of wonderful objects and colourful celestial bodies that look unreal. For years, astronomers have been capturing stunning images of galaxies around us, and now they have clicked one of the most detailed and colourful pictures of a galaxy. Located around 11 million light years away from Earth, the Sculptor galaxy, also known as NGC 253, has a similar shape, size and mass to that of our very own Milky Way. Enrico Congiu, a researcher at the European Southern Observatory (ESO) who led a new Astronomy & Astrophysics study on Sculptor, said that the galaxy 'is close enough that we can resolve its internal structure and study its building blocks with incredible detail, but at the same time, big enough that we can still see it as a whole system.' To generate this detailed map of the Sculptor Galaxy, researchers said they observed it for more than 50 hours using the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope. They then stitched together more than 100 exposures to cover an area that spans 65,000 light years wide. A galaxy's building blocks, which consist of stars, gas and dust, emit light in different colours. And while normal images of a galaxy only contain a handful of colours, the new ultra-detailed picture of the Sculptor galaxy has thousands of colours. ESO says that this 'tells astronomers everything they need to know about the stars, gas and dust within, such as their age, composition and motion.' Researchers say the image is so detailed that astronomers can zoom into it to study 'individual regions where stars form at nearly the scale of individual stars, but we can also zoom out to study the galaxy as a whole.' As it turns out, the detailed image of the Sculptor galaxy has already helped astronomers spot 500 new planetary nebulae and observe shells of gas and dust that are emitted by stars after they die and are on the verge of becoming a red giant. These planetary nebulae can help us verify the distance to the Galaxy, which is an important piece of information on which the rest of the studies of the galaxy depend. Astronomers say they will now use the detailed map of the Sculptor galaxy to see how gas flows and changes its composition to form stars. The Sculptor galaxy has already been observed several times, with one of the most detailed observations recorded by the Hubble Space Telescope back in 1998. Like our neighbouring Andromeda galaxy, it is super bright and huge and can be easily spotted using binoculars in ideal conditions.
The Advertiser
19-06-2025
- Science
- The Advertiser
Nearby Sculptor galaxy revealed in ultra-detail
The Sculptor galaxy is similar in many respects to our Milky Way. It is about the same size and mass, with a similar spiral structure. But while it is impossible to get a full view of the Milky Way from the vantage point of Earth because we are inside the galaxy, Sculptor is perfectly positioned for a good look. Astronomers have done just that, releasing an ultra-detailed image of the Sculptor galaxy on Wednesday obtained with 50 hours of observations using one of the world's biggest telescopes, the European Southern Observatory's Chile-based Very Large Telescope. The image shows Sculptor, also called NGC 253, in around 4000 different colours, each corresponding to a specific wavelength in the optical spectrum. Because various galactic components emit light differently across the spectrum, the observations are providing information at unprecedented detail on the inner workings of an entire galaxy, from star formation to the motion of interstellar gas on large scales. Conventional images in astronomy offer only a handful of colours, providing less information. The researchers used the telescope's Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer, or MUSE, instrument. "NGC 253 is close enough that we can observe it in remarkable detail with MUSE, yet far enough that we can still see the entire galaxy in a single field of view," said astronomer Enrico Congiu, a fellow at the European Southern Observatory in Santiago, and lead author of research being published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. "That's why NGC 253 is such a perfect target: it acts as a bridge between the ultra-detailed studies of the Milky Way and the large-scale studies of more distant galaxies. It gives us a rare opportunity to connect the small-scale physics with the big-picture view." Sculptor is about 11 million light-years from Earth, making it one of the closest big galaxies to the Milky Way. A light-year is the distance light travels in a year, 9.5 trillion km. Like the Milky Way, it is a barred spiral galaxy, meaning it has an elongated structure extending from its nucleus, with spiral arms extending from the ends of the bar. Its diameter of about 88,000 light-years is similar to the Milky Way's, as is its total mass. One major difference is Sculptor's rate of new star formation, estimated to be two to three times greater than that of the Milky Way. Nearly 30 per cent of this star formation is happening near the galaxy's nucleus in what is called a starburst region, as revealed in colourful emissions shown in the new image. The observations have given information on a wide range of properties such as the motion, age and chemical composition of stars and the movement of interstellar gas, an important component of any galaxy. "Since the light from stars is typically bluer if the stars are young or redder if the stars are old, having thousands of colours lets us learn a lot about what stars and populations of stars exist in the galaxy," said astronomer Kathryn Kreckel of Heidelberg University in Germany, a study co-author. "Similarly for the gas, it glows in specific bright emission lines at very specific colours, and tells us about the different elements that exist in the gas, and what is causing it to glow," Kreckel said. The initial research being published from the observations involves planetary nebulae, which are luminous clouds of gas and dust expelled by certain dying stars. Despite their name, they have nothing to do with planets. These nebulae can help astronomers measure the precise distances of faraway galaxies. The researchers marveled at the scientific and aesthetic value of the new view of Sculptor. "I personally find these images amazing," Congiu said. "What amazes me the most is that every time I look at them, I notice something new - another nebula, a splash of unexpected colour or some subtle structure that hints at the incredible physics behind it all." The Sculptor galaxy is similar in many respects to our Milky Way. It is about the same size and mass, with a similar spiral structure. But while it is impossible to get a full view of the Milky Way from the vantage point of Earth because we are inside the galaxy, Sculptor is perfectly positioned for a good look. Astronomers have done just that, releasing an ultra-detailed image of the Sculptor galaxy on Wednesday obtained with 50 hours of observations using one of the world's biggest telescopes, the European Southern Observatory's Chile-based Very Large Telescope. The image shows Sculptor, also called NGC 253, in around 4000 different colours, each corresponding to a specific wavelength in the optical spectrum. Because various galactic components emit light differently across the spectrum, the observations are providing information at unprecedented detail on the inner workings of an entire galaxy, from star formation to the motion of interstellar gas on large scales. Conventional images in astronomy offer only a handful of colours, providing less information. The researchers used the telescope's Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer, or MUSE, instrument. "NGC 253 is close enough that we can observe it in remarkable detail with MUSE, yet far enough that we can still see the entire galaxy in a single field of view," said astronomer Enrico Congiu, a fellow at the European Southern Observatory in Santiago, and lead author of research being published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. "That's why NGC 253 is such a perfect target: it acts as a bridge between the ultra-detailed studies of the Milky Way and the large-scale studies of more distant galaxies. It gives us a rare opportunity to connect the small-scale physics with the big-picture view." Sculptor is about 11 million light-years from Earth, making it one of the closest big galaxies to the Milky Way. A light-year is the distance light travels in a year, 9.5 trillion km. Like the Milky Way, it is a barred spiral galaxy, meaning it has an elongated structure extending from its nucleus, with spiral arms extending from the ends of the bar. Its diameter of about 88,000 light-years is similar to the Milky Way's, as is its total mass. One major difference is Sculptor's rate of new star formation, estimated to be two to three times greater than that of the Milky Way. Nearly 30 per cent of this star formation is happening near the galaxy's nucleus in what is called a starburst region, as revealed in colourful emissions shown in the new image. The observations have given information on a wide range of properties such as the motion, age and chemical composition of stars and the movement of interstellar gas, an important component of any galaxy. "Since the light from stars is typically bluer if the stars are young or redder if the stars are old, having thousands of colours lets us learn a lot about what stars and populations of stars exist in the galaxy," said astronomer Kathryn Kreckel of Heidelberg University in Germany, a study co-author. "Similarly for the gas, it glows in specific bright emission lines at very specific colours, and tells us about the different elements that exist in the gas, and what is causing it to glow," Kreckel said. The initial research being published from the observations involves planetary nebulae, which are luminous clouds of gas and dust expelled by certain dying stars. Despite their name, they have nothing to do with planets. These nebulae can help astronomers measure the precise distances of faraway galaxies. The researchers marveled at the scientific and aesthetic value of the new view of Sculptor. "I personally find these images amazing," Congiu said. "What amazes me the most is that every time I look at them, I notice something new - another nebula, a splash of unexpected colour or some subtle structure that hints at the incredible physics behind it all." The Sculptor galaxy is similar in many respects to our Milky Way. It is about the same size and mass, with a similar spiral structure. But while it is impossible to get a full view of the Milky Way from the vantage point of Earth because we are inside the galaxy, Sculptor is perfectly positioned for a good look. Astronomers have done just that, releasing an ultra-detailed image of the Sculptor galaxy on Wednesday obtained with 50 hours of observations using one of the world's biggest telescopes, the European Southern Observatory's Chile-based Very Large Telescope. The image shows Sculptor, also called NGC 253, in around 4000 different colours, each corresponding to a specific wavelength in the optical spectrum. Because various galactic components emit light differently across the spectrum, the observations are providing information at unprecedented detail on the inner workings of an entire galaxy, from star formation to the motion of interstellar gas on large scales. Conventional images in astronomy offer only a handful of colours, providing less information. The researchers used the telescope's Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer, or MUSE, instrument. "NGC 253 is close enough that we can observe it in remarkable detail with MUSE, yet far enough that we can still see the entire galaxy in a single field of view," said astronomer Enrico Congiu, a fellow at the European Southern Observatory in Santiago, and lead author of research being published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. "That's why NGC 253 is such a perfect target: it acts as a bridge between the ultra-detailed studies of the Milky Way and the large-scale studies of more distant galaxies. It gives us a rare opportunity to connect the small-scale physics with the big-picture view." Sculptor is about 11 million light-years from Earth, making it one of the closest big galaxies to the Milky Way. A light-year is the distance light travels in a year, 9.5 trillion km. Like the Milky Way, it is a barred spiral galaxy, meaning it has an elongated structure extending from its nucleus, with spiral arms extending from the ends of the bar. Its diameter of about 88,000 light-years is similar to the Milky Way's, as is its total mass. One major difference is Sculptor's rate of new star formation, estimated to be two to three times greater than that of the Milky Way. Nearly 30 per cent of this star formation is happening near the galaxy's nucleus in what is called a starburst region, as revealed in colourful emissions shown in the new image. The observations have given information on a wide range of properties such as the motion, age and chemical composition of stars and the movement of interstellar gas, an important component of any galaxy. "Since the light from stars is typically bluer if the stars are young or redder if the stars are old, having thousands of colours lets us learn a lot about what stars and populations of stars exist in the galaxy," said astronomer Kathryn Kreckel of Heidelberg University in Germany, a study co-author. "Similarly for the gas, it glows in specific bright emission lines at very specific colours, and tells us about the different elements that exist in the gas, and what is causing it to glow," Kreckel said. The initial research being published from the observations involves planetary nebulae, which are luminous clouds of gas and dust expelled by certain dying stars. Despite their name, they have nothing to do with planets. These nebulae can help astronomers measure the precise distances of faraway galaxies. The researchers marveled at the scientific and aesthetic value of the new view of Sculptor. "I personally find these images amazing," Congiu said. "What amazes me the most is that every time I look at them, I notice something new - another nebula, a splash of unexpected colour or some subtle structure that hints at the incredible physics behind it all." The Sculptor galaxy is similar in many respects to our Milky Way. It is about the same size and mass, with a similar spiral structure. But while it is impossible to get a full view of the Milky Way from the vantage point of Earth because we are inside the galaxy, Sculptor is perfectly positioned for a good look. Astronomers have done just that, releasing an ultra-detailed image of the Sculptor galaxy on Wednesday obtained with 50 hours of observations using one of the world's biggest telescopes, the European Southern Observatory's Chile-based Very Large Telescope. The image shows Sculptor, also called NGC 253, in around 4000 different colours, each corresponding to a specific wavelength in the optical spectrum. Because various galactic components emit light differently across the spectrum, the observations are providing information at unprecedented detail on the inner workings of an entire galaxy, from star formation to the motion of interstellar gas on large scales. Conventional images in astronomy offer only a handful of colours, providing less information. The researchers used the telescope's Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer, or MUSE, instrument. "NGC 253 is close enough that we can observe it in remarkable detail with MUSE, yet far enough that we can still see the entire galaxy in a single field of view," said astronomer Enrico Congiu, a fellow at the European Southern Observatory in Santiago, and lead author of research being published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics. "That's why NGC 253 is such a perfect target: it acts as a bridge between the ultra-detailed studies of the Milky Way and the large-scale studies of more distant galaxies. It gives us a rare opportunity to connect the small-scale physics with the big-picture view." Sculptor is about 11 million light-years from Earth, making it one of the closest big galaxies to the Milky Way. A light-year is the distance light travels in a year, 9.5 trillion km. Like the Milky Way, it is a barred spiral galaxy, meaning it has an elongated structure extending from its nucleus, with spiral arms extending from the ends of the bar. Its diameter of about 88,000 light-years is similar to the Milky Way's, as is its total mass. One major difference is Sculptor's rate of new star formation, estimated to be two to three times greater than that of the Milky Way. Nearly 30 per cent of this star formation is happening near the galaxy's nucleus in what is called a starburst region, as revealed in colourful emissions shown in the new image. The observations have given information on a wide range of properties such as the motion, age and chemical composition of stars and the movement of interstellar gas, an important component of any galaxy. "Since the light from stars is typically bluer if the stars are young or redder if the stars are old, having thousands of colours lets us learn a lot about what stars and populations of stars exist in the galaxy," said astronomer Kathryn Kreckel of Heidelberg University in Germany, a study co-author. "Similarly for the gas, it glows in specific bright emission lines at very specific colours, and tells us about the different elements that exist in the gas, and what is causing it to glow," Kreckel said. The initial research being published from the observations involves planetary nebulae, which are luminous clouds of gas and dust expelled by certain dying stars. Despite their name, they have nothing to do with planets. These nebulae can help astronomers measure the precise distances of faraway galaxies. The researchers marveled at the scientific and aesthetic value of the new view of Sculptor. "I personally find these images amazing," Congiu said. "What amazes me the most is that every time I look at them, I notice something new - another nebula, a splash of unexpected colour or some subtle structure that hints at the incredible physics behind it all."
