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Article: Unveiling a galaxy's power source.
- Article from:
- Science News
- Article date:
- May 12, 1990
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1990 Science Service, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Unveiling a Galaxy's Power Source
In visible light, the galaxy Arp 220 looks unimpressive, but at infrared wavelengths it shines brighter than 100 Milky Ways. Astronomers have now identified two closely spaced sources of intense radiation buried deep within the galaxy's core. The finding suggests that Arp 220 represents a late stage in the merger of two spiral galaxies, with each galaxy having an active nucleus powered by the movement of matter toward a black hole.
"We've caught it at a unique time in its evolution, when the nuclei are very close together," says James R. Graham of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.
Once the ...