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The “Eye of God” (Helix Nebula that is a cylinder pointed toward Earth) as seen from the Hubble space telescope

Pin-wheeled Galaxy as seen from the Hubble

A celestial explosion as seen from the Hubble

The Whirlpool Galaxy as seen from the Hubble – Stars are born in the Whirlpool’s spiral arms as gravity crushes gas and dust until they erupt in star formations. The galaxy was first noted in 1845 by Irish astronomer William Parsons.

Another stunning view of the Whirlpool Galaxy and its Dwarf Companion as seen from the Spitzer Space Telescope

Orion Nebula as seen from the Hubble – More than 3000 stars appear in this image, some have never been seen in visible light.

Pluto and it’s previously known moon Charon. Two newly discovered moons appear faint and to the right of the pair as seen from the Hubble. Pluto was discovered in 1930; Charon moon was discovered in 1978, and the two new moons in May 2005.

SUPERNOVA hubblesite.org/discoveries/10th/photos/slide28.stml) A supernova is an explosive death of a massive star. The brightest supernova in four centuries occured in 1987. With the help of the Hubble space telescope, astronomers have watched the remnant of the blast develop into a dumbbell-shaped structure consisting of two blobs of debris expanding away from each other at nearly 6 million mph. Astronomers believe the dim area between the blobs may be related to the equatorial belt of material around the suprenova that existed before the star exploded. The ring was illuminated by radiation from the supernova explosion and slowly faded thereafter. Recently the ring has begun to light up again as debris from the blast crashes into it. The star exploded when its core collapsed and heated the star’s inner layers to 10 billion degrees F. This triggered a shock wave that ripped the star apart and sent the debris into space.

Supernova 1987A

BLACK HOLES www.nasa.gov/vision/universe/starsgalaxies/Black_Hole.html) A black hole is an object whose gravity is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape. Astronomers have long thought that black holes come in just two kinds, steller and super-massive. The type depends on the mass of the black hole. Based on recent work there now appears to be a third kind called “intermediate mass” black hole. The problem is that intermediate mass black holes cannot be accounted for under the existing theory of how black holes form.

The mass of a black hole is usually expressed in terms of “solar mass”. One solar mass is the mass of our sun, or 2 X 10^30 kilograms – about 1 million times more than the mass of the Earth.

A steller black hole forms when a massive star undergoes an explosive death called a supernova. This explosion which can outshine an entire galaxy of stars for a week, leaves behind a small, heavy core of a star. If this core is massive enough, it will collapse on itself and form a black hole. A typical steller-class of black hole has a mass between 3 and 10 solar masses.

Supermassive black holes exist in the center of most galaxies, including our own Milky Way Galaxie. They are astonishingly heavy, with masses ranging millions to billions of solar masses. Astronomers believe their development is linked to their presence at the center of their galaxy. There are so many stars and so much gas and dust that the black hole can grow large quickly.

The intermediate mass black hole is estimated to have a mass of 100 to 1000 solar masses. No single star could ever form such a heavy black hole. The only way astronomers think such black holes could form is for a single black hole to devour lots of material to get up to the required heft, or for individual black holes to merge together. However both of these scenarios pose problems that cannot be answered at this time.

Intermediate-sized black holes as detected by the Chandra X-ray telescope. Their existence cannot be accounted for under existing theory of how black holes form.

Artist concept of an intermediate black hole feeding off a star that has wondered too close. Astronomers had thought that black holes come in just two types-steller (“light-weight”) and super-massive.

BROWN DWARFS

An artist’s concept of a pair of eclipsing brown dwarfs. Brown dwarfs are mysterious celestial objects that fall somewhere between the smallest stars and the largest planets. They are viewed as a critical link in understanding how planets and stars form. Brown dwarfs are hard to find and have defied attempts to accurately assess their size. Astronomers have discovered a pair of young dwarfs in mutual orbit, enabling scientists to weigh and measure the diameters of brown dwarfs for the first time. These observations confirm that brown dwarfs start out as star-sized objects, but shrink and cool and become planet sized as they age.

I RECOMMEND THE WEB PAGE: MARIANATRENCH.COM
The Mariana Trench is located in the Pacific Ocean just East of the Mariana Islands near Japan. It is the deepest part of the Earth’s oceans and the deepest location on Earth. The deepest part of the trench is 36,201 feet (compare to the highest point on Earth, Mount Everest at 29,035 feet!). At the deepest point of the trench, the pressure is over 8 tons/inch. The Mariana trench is 1580 miles long and 43 miles wide. The Mariana Trench is one of twenty-two trenches in the Earth’s oceans.

Cross-section of the Mariana trench and Arc: click on image for a larger view

This 3-D sketch shows the Mariana Arc with some of its main structures and features. There is old ocean crust descending into the trench at the same time that new crust is forming along the island arc.

Mariana Trench Biology
The deepest part of the ocean is called the abyssal zone. It is host to thousands of species of invertebrates and fish including such oddities as the Angler Fish, so called because it uses a bioluminescent protrusion to attract its prey. Most of the Earth’s oceans are very dark. At a depth of 500 feet there is little, if any, light, and colors are no longer visible to the human eye. On the Abyssal Plain the ocean floor consists of pelagic sediment, also known as biogenous “ooze”. Pelagic sediment is composed of shells, animal skeletons, decaying microorganisms and plants; it is generally yellowish and very viscous.

Artist Concept of an Angler Fish