Astronomy
PENEMUAN GALAKSI "TRANSPARAN"
July 11, 2012
Teleskop luar angkasa Hubble baru saja menemukan tiga
galaksi yang saking tua dan samarnya diberi julukan 'Galaksi Transparan'.
Tiga galaksi ini diperkirakan akan sangat membantu para antariksawan
untuk menjelaskan misteri kosmos yang berusia 13 miliar tahun.
Galaksi-galaksi ini termasuk yang terkecil dan nyaris tak terlihat dan
paling dekat dengan Bima Sakti.
Gambar-gambar yang dirilis pada
10 Juli 2012 ini menunjukkan galaksi kerdil yang redup, Leo IV, tetangga
dekat galaksi Bima Sakti.
Leo IV adalah satu dari belasan galaksi
kerdil yang samar-samar di sekitar Bima Sakti. Galaksi ini didominasi
oleh dark matter atau materi gelap, materi tak tampak yang merupakan
sebagian besar massa semesta. Gambar oleh Sloan Digital Sky Survey
menampilkan Leo IV dan kawasan di sekitarnya.
Leo IV terletak 500 ribu
tahun cahaya dari Bumi. Leo IV memiliki sedikit bintang, sekitar
beberapa ribu, sehingga astronom sulit menggolongkannya sebagai galaksi.
Bintang-bintang di galaksi ini berusia 13 miliar tahun, hampir setua
alam semesta yang mencapai 13,7 miliar tahun.
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REUTERS/NASA, ESA, and T. Brown
(STScI)/Handout (UNITED STATES - Tags: ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY)
FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING
CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS
DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS
|
Gambar galaksi kerdil Leo IV
seperti diambil oleh NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, dan dikeluarkan
NASA on July 10, 2012.
Gambar di kiri menunjukkan galaksi kerdil
tersebut, ditandai oleh kotak putih. Foto di tengah adalah gambar dekat
latar galaksi Leo IV. Gambar di kanan adalah bintang-bintang di Leo IV.
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| REUTERS/NASA, ESA, and T. Brown (STScI)/Handout (ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE
TECHNOLOGY) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS |
Astronomers used the NASA/ESA
Hubble Space Telescope to unmask the dim, star-starved dwarf galaxy Leo
IV. This Hubble image released on July 10, 2012, demonstrates why
astronomers had a tough time spotting this small-fry galaxy: it is
practically invisible.
The image shows how the handful of stars from the
sparse galaxy are virtually indistinguishable from the background.
Residing 500 000 light-years from Earth, Leo IV is one of more than a
dozen ultra-faint dwarf galaxies found lurking around our Milky Way
galaxy. These galaxies are dominated by dark matter, an invisible
substance that makes up the bulk of the Universe's mass.
 |
REUTERS/NASA, ESA, and T. Brown
(STScI)/Handout (UNITED STATES - Tags: ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY)
FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY.
NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS |
The wide image shows dwarf galaxy
Leo IV and the surrounding neighbourhood. The dotted line marks the
galaxy’s boundaries, measuring about 1100 light-years wide. The small
white box outlines the Hubble Space Telescope’s view.
Dwarf galaxy Leo IV is hard to
spot (left). A close-up view of the background galaxies within the box
is shown in the middle image. The image at right shows only the stars in
Leo IV. Image released July 10, 2012.
The Muñoz 1 globular cluster is
seen to the right of the Ursa Minor dwarf galaxy in this image from the
Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope MegaCam imager.
 |
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