Hubble Reveals Identity of Mysterious Green Blob : Big Pic
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Jan. 11, 2011 -- The Hubble Space Telescope has zoomed in on one of the most fascinating, yet mysterious, cosmic objects to be found in recent years. The green gaseous structure is known as Hanny's Voorwerp ("Hanny's Object" in Dutch) and its existence had astronomers confused for some time.
But now, Hubble has managed to capture a detailed view of the intergalactic oddity, revealing that it's not just a dead cloud of gas being lit up by the dying embers of an ancient quasar, it's showing signs of star birth.
SEE ALSO: Hanny and the Voorwerp: Cool Band Name, or Web Comic?
Discovered in 2007 by Hanny van Arkel, a Dutch schoolteacher participating in the Galaxy Zoo project, the Voorwerp defied explanation. It was simply a glowing green cloud, floating in deep space near the spiral galaxy IC 2497, 650 million light-years from Earth. It's also big; a cloud of gas of approximately the same size as the Milky Way galaxy.
After intense scrutiny, astronomers realized that Hanny's Voorwerp was being lit up by a light source that no longer existed. In the center of the neighboring galaxy, a quasar once lived. This quasar, generated by the supermassive black hole thought to be hiding in the center of IC 2497, died 200,000 years ago, but its light is still traveling across space to illuminate the gas clouds. In short, Hanny's Voorwerp is lit up by dead quasar light echoes.
Using Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 and Advanced Camera for Surveys, scientists have managed to capture the most detailed view yet of Hanny's Voorwerp, revealing its stunning complexity. Far from being an inactive cloud, gas from the galaxy's core is flowing into the Voorwerp, kickstarting a region of star formation as the gas collapses.
This research was presented at this week's American Astronomical Society meeting in Seattle, Wash.
-- by Ian O'Neill
Image: NASA, ESA, W. Keel (University of Alabama), and the Galaxy Zoo Team
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