August 31, 2005
PRIVILEGED POSITION (via Richard Compton):
Galactic survey reveals a new look for the Milky Way (Terry Devitt, August 16, 2005, University of Wisconsin-Madison)
With the help of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, astronomers have conducted the most comprehensive structural analysis of our galaxy and have found tantalizing new evidence that the Milky Way is much different from your ordinary spiral galaxy.The survey using the orbiting infrared telescope provides the fine details of a long central bar feature that distinguishes the Milky Way from more pedestrian spiral galaxies.
Posted by Orrin Judd at August 31, 2005 6:51 AM
"Milky Way bar found by telescope" I want to see the TV people report this one with a straight face...
Posted by: John at August 31, 2005 10:30 AMThey'll have to re-name some of the nebulae. There's the Nougat Cluster, and the Milk Chocolate Nebula.
Posted by: Robert Duquette at August 31, 2005 10:53 AMI was thinking more along the lines of a really stupendous wet bar.
Posted by: Twn at August 31, 2005 11:18 AMWhat's interesting about barred spiral galaxies is that they shouldn't exist. The visible mass of a galaxy doesn't have enough density to create such structures.
Astronomers are scratching their heads trying to figure it out. The current theory is that most the mass of a galaxy consists of some sort of mysterious "dark matter".
Posted by: Gideon at August 31, 2005 1:43 PMand dark matter is just a fudge anyway.
Posted by: oj at August 31, 2005 2:01 PMA galactic bar - Oh! Give me some of that Ol' Janx Spirit!
Posted by: Shelton at August 31, 2005 2:23 PMGin and Tonics all around! (However you may spell that.)
Or a Pan-Galactic GargleBlaster.
In all seriousness, barred spirals aren't all that uncommon as galaxies go. It's no great shock if we're living in one.
Posted by: Mike Morley at August 31, 2005 3:58 PMOrrin's not shocked.
Posted by: RC at August 31, 2005 6:37 PM