WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Cosmic nebulae usually look like blobs in space, but astronomers using the Spitzer Space Telescope reported on Wednesday they have found a nebula twisted like the double helix of DNA.
"Nobody has ever seen anything like that before in the cosmic realm," said Mark Morris of the University of California, Los Angeles.
Most nebulae are "formless, amorphous conglomerations of dust and gas," Morris said in a statement, adding that this one "indicates a high degree of order."
The discovery of the twisted nebula, which stretches across 80 light-years at the center of the Milky Way, the galaxy that includes Earth, was reported in the current edition of the journal Nature.
A light-year is about 6 trillion miles (10 trillion kilometers), the distance light travels in a year.
"We see two intertwining strands wrapped around each other as in a DNA molecule," said Morris, lead author of the Nature article.
DNA, which forms the basic material in chromosomes, has a molecule that looks like a twisted ladder, known as a double helix.
The strands of the nebula may be torqued by twisted magnetic fields at the Milky Way's center, Morris said by telephone.
These magnetic fields are indirectly spawned by the gaping black hole at the galactic heart, he said. Black holes are massive matter-sucking drains in space, pulling in everything around them so powerfully that not even light can escape.
But before the matter falls into the black hole, it swirls around its edges. This rotation twists the magnetic fields, which in turn twist the nebula's strands, Morris said.
The nebula is relatively close to the black hole, just 300 light-years away. Earth is more than 25,000 light-years away.
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope detects the infrared energy emitted by objects in space with high sensitivity and resolution, enabling it to clearly see the nebula's distinctive shape.
Nitram, slightly high on cough syrup: Do you know you're beautiful?
Me: Nope, that's why I have you around to tell me.
Nitram: You -are- beautiful. Anyone tries to tell you otherwise kill them.
"A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP" -- Leonard Nimoy, last Tweet
"If one needed proof that a guitar was more than wood and string, that a song was more than notes and words, and that a man could be more than a name and a few faded pictures, then Robert Johnson’s recordings were all one could ask for."
VT-16 wrote:Obviously Azathoth is alot bigger than previously thought. ;P
Okay, I *know* that's a Lovecraft ref...but the only Elder thingies I really know anything about are Cthulhu and Nyarlathotep (1000 forms, all made for your pleasure!). What the blue heck is Azathoth?
VT-16 wrote:Obviously Azathoth is alot bigger than previously thought. ;P
Okay, I *know* that's a Lovecraft ref...but the only Elder thingies I really know anything about are Cthulhu and Nyarlathotep (1000 forms, all made for your pleasure!). What the blue heck is Azathoth?
Azathoth slumbers, and reality is it's dream.
Manic Progressive: A liberal who violently swings from anger at politicos to despondency over them.
Out Of Context theatre: Ron Paul has repeatedly said he's not a racist. - Destructinator XIII on why Ron Paul isn't racist.
I can't wait for the resident Perryverse fans to see this.
'Next time I let Superman take charge, just hit me. Real hard.'
'You're a princess from a society of immortal warriors. I'm a rich kid with issues. Lots of issues.'
'No. No dating for the Batman. It might cut into your brooding time.'
'Tactically we have multiple objectives. So we need to split into teams.'-'Dibs on the Amazon!'
'Hey, we both have a Martian's phone number on our speed dial. I think I deserve the benefit of the doubt.'
'You know, for a guy with like 50 different kinds of vision, you sure are blind.'
Batman wrote:I can't wait for the resident Perryverse fans to see this.
The moralic code?
I'd say the moral code but yes that was what I was getting at.
'Next time I let Superman take charge, just hit me. Real hard.'
'You're a princess from a society of immortal warriors. I'm a rich kid with issues. Lots of issues.'
'No. No dating for the Batman. It might cut into your brooding time.'
'Tactically we have multiple objectives. So we need to split into teams.'-'Dibs on the Amazon!'
'Hey, we both have a Martian's phone number on our speed dial. I think I deserve the benefit of the doubt.'
'You know, for a guy with like 50 different kinds of vision, you sure are blind.'
