Friday, February 25, 2011

APOD 3.5

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Lying beneath a spiral galaxy is an enormous object known as Hanny's Voorwerp. Stretching to lengths larger than our own milky way galaxy, the sheer mass of Hanny's Voorwerp can be seen in comparison to the galaxy it rests below. The greenish aurora to the object is due to oxygen particles being illuminated in the visible spectrum. Hanny's Voorwerp is believed to have been a part of the spiral of the galaxy above it (IC2497), but the galaxy collided with another, causing the massive tail to be pulled apart to where it now rests. The sheer size of this object is awe inspiring, a space the size of our galaxy inhabited primarily by oxygen particles.

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