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Credit & Copyright: Illustration: Sam Moorfield;
Data: CSIRO,
HST
(HUDF),
ESA,
NASA;
Image: J. English (U. Manitoba), EMU, MeerKAT, DES (CTIO); Text: Jayanne English
Explanation:
What do you call a cosmic puzzle that no one expected to see?
In this case,
Odd Radio Circles, aka
ORCs.
ORC-1 typifies the enigmatic five objects, only visible at
radio frequencies,
that were
serendipitously discovered in 2019 using the new
Australian
SKA Pathfinder radio array.
The final image in the featured video uses 2021 data from the
South African
MeerKAT
array to reveal more detail.
The radio data, assigned turquoise colors, are combined with a
Dark Energy Survey optical/IR map.
The animated artistÁs illustration explores just one idea about the
ORCsÁ origins.
If two supermassive
black holes merge in the center of a galaxy,
the associated
shockwaves could generate rings of radio radiation.
These grow to fill the video frame.
The video
zooms out so the expansion the
ORC can be tracked
until it is about a million
light-years across.
Fortunately, the up-coming
Square Kilometer Array can help test this and other promising scenarios.
Image: J. English (U. Manitoba), EMU, MeerKAT, DES (CTIO); Text: Jayanne English
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: radio astronomy
Publications with words: radio astronomy
See also: