Hubblecast. Star. Hayabusa Mission. Science resources. NASA. Spaceweather. GeoHack. Islands of Galaxies. Astronomers Probe 'Sandbar' Between Islands of Galaxies Astronomers have caught sight of an unusual galaxy that has illuminated new details about a celestial "sandbar" connecting two massive islands of galaxies. The research was conducted in part with NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. These "sandbars," or filaments, are known to span vast distances between galaxy clusters and form a lattice-like structure known as the cosmic web. Though immense, these filaments are difficult to see and study in detail.
Two years ago, Spitzer's infrared eyes revealed that one such intergalactic filament containing star-forming galaxies ran between the galaxy clusters called Abell 1763 and Abell 1770. Now these observations have been bolstered by the discovery, inside this same filament, of a galaxy that has a rare boomerang shape and unusual light emissions.
Blowing in the cosmic breeze According to the data, the density inside this filament is indeed about 100 times the average density of the universe. Strange Specimen in Starry Sea. WISE Image Reveals Strange Specimen in Starry Sea This image composite shows two views of a puffy, dying star, or planetary nebula, known as NGC 1514. The view on the left is from a ground-based, visible-light telescope; the view on the right shows the object in infrared light, as seen by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/DSS › Full image and caption › Infrared view › Visible view PASADENA, Calif.-- A new image from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer shows what looks like a glowing jellyfish floating at the bottom of a dark, speckled sea.
In reality, this critter belongs to the cosmos -- it's a dying star surrounded by fluorescing gas and two very unusual rings. The object, known as NGC 1514 and sometimes the "Crystal Ball" nebula, belongs to a class of objects called planetary nebulae, which form when dying stars toss off their outer layers of material. Planetary nebulae with asymmetrical wings of nebulosity are common.