Integral Field Unit

Discussion in 'Astronomy, Exobiology, & Cosmology' started by wet1, Apr 8, 2002.

  1. wet1 Wanderer Registered Senior Member

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    Artwork by Jon Lomberg.


    Astronomers observing with the Gemini North Telescope on Hawaii's Mauna Kea have a powerful new tool to probe mysterious cosmic caldrons like those at the cores of galaxies and stellar nurseries.


    Using the recently commissioned Integral Field Unit (IFU) on the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS), astronomers at the observatory have recently obtained a complete multi-dimensional picture of the dynamic flow of gas and stars at the core of an active galaxy named NGC 1068 in a single snap-shot. The resulting windfall of data has been transformed into an animation that dramatically reveals the internal gyrations of the galaxy - including the interactions of a pair of galactic-scale jets that spew material for thousands of light years away from the suspected black hole at the galaxy's core.

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