Andromeda Galaxy Captured By Chandra In Tribute To Dr. Vera Rubin

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The Andromeda galaxy (M31) has been captured by the Chandra X-ray Telescope. See the imagery and hear a sonification of it.   "This image of M31 is released in tribute to the groundbreaking legacy of Dr. Vera Rubin," according to the Chandra team  Credit: NASA/CXC/A. Hobart

Transcript

00:00Visit Chandra's Beautiful Universe

00:05M31

00:07The Andromeda galaxy, also known as Messier 31, M31, is the closest spiral galaxy to the

00:18Milky Way at a distance of about 2.5 million light years. Astronomers use Andromeda to

00:25understand the structure and evolution of our own spiral, which is much harder to do

00:30since Earth is embedded inside the Milky Way. M31 has played an important role in many aspects

00:37of astrophysics, but particularly in the discovery of dark matter. In the 1960s, Vera Rubin and

00:45her colleagues studied M31 and determined that there was some unseen matter in the galaxy

00:50that was affecting how the galaxy and its spiral arms rotated. This unknown material was named

00:58dark matter, and its nature remains one of the biggest open questions in astrophysics today.

01:05Each type of light reveals new information about this close galactic relative to the Milky Way.

01:11For example, Chandra's x-rays reveal the high-energy radiation around the supermassive black hole at

01:17the center of M31, as well as many other small, compact, and dense objects strewn across the galaxy.

01:25These multi-wavelength datasets are also being released as a sonification, which includes the

01:30same wavelengths of data in the new composite. In a sonification, the layer from each telescope

01:37has been separated out and rotated so that they stack on top of each other horizontally, beginning with

01:42x-rays at the top, and then moving through ultraviolet, optical, infrared, and radio at the bottom.

01:51As the scan moves from left to right in the sonification, each type of light is mapped to a

01:56different range of notes, ranging from lower-energy radio waves up through the high-energy of x-rays.

02:02This new image of M31 is released in tribute to the groundbreaking legacy of Dr. Vera Rubin,

02:21whose observations transformed our understanding of the universe.

02:25Rubin's meticulous measurements of Andromeda's rotation curve provided some of the earliest and

02:32most convincing evidence that galaxies are embedded in massive halos of invisible material,

02:38what we now call dark matter. Her work challenged long-held assumptions and catalyzed a new era of

02:45research into the composition and dynamics of the cosmos. In recognition of her profound scientific

02:52contributions, the United States Mint has recently released a quarter in 2025, featuring Rubin as

02:59part of its American Women Quarters program, making her the first astronomer honored in the series.

03:22of CUS burgers that have been given yearl as part of its creation.

03:25of its reopening on September 2021.

03:27of world-world and the Integress held anywhere from 100%рос

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