The different wavelength imaging techniques in overlay makes this APOD extra interesting. The shells of hot gas engulfing large portions of the colliding galaxies, I suppose, is reducing potential for life supporting planets. Nowhere amidst the shells to have a picnic I expect!
As I maneuvered my cursor on and off this APOD image, the slight misalignment in the overlay prompted thought about the motion arena played out among all the objects of the cosmos. If I understand correctly, everything in the cosmos is moving… all the asteroids, moons, planets, stars, galaxies, nebulae, dark matter… everything… including cosmic microwave background radiation. There is no stationary object found in the universe. Position, speed and trajectory are measured relative to other objects.
<< R.E.M. – Stand...
”Stand in the place where you live
Now face North
Think about direction
Wonder why you haven't before
Now stand in the place where you work
Now face West
Think about the place where you live
Wonder why you haven't before
If you are confused check with the sun
Carry a compass to help you along
Your feet are going to be on the ground
Your head is there to move you around” >>
My head isn’t always moving me around… but my head spins as I contemplate my cosmic ride that is rotating at about 1,000 MPH and moving around the sun at approximately 67,000 MPH which is orbiting the center of the Milky Way at around 490,000 MPH and the MW in turn may be moving at roughly 1,300,000 MPH into outer galactic space… so technically, I am always ‘moving around’ even in my sleep.
(The Milky Way - image from Chandra field guide website)
So where are we in the cosmos? I think the best answer is “we don’t know” since we can’t “see” the entire cosmos. Or at least we can’t say for sure that we can. Come to think of it… how do we know we can’t see the entire cosmos if we can’t see it??? Oh well, at any rate, it was good to learn that we are currently a safe distance from any hot cosmic gas, plus we are in a relatively quiet and pristine location for viewing the outer spaces.
This cosmic vantage point entices and teases us into imagining all sorts of inter and outer galactic adventures including incredible alien discoveries. Myself for example, some years ago, inspired by the “rocket age”, changed my bunk bed and Jimmy Jet into an intergalactic hyper-light-speed adventure vehicle exploring imaginary planets and battling hostile aliens. I never really cared about where I was or where I was going… just had to get somewhere to fight those bad aliens!
One of this APOD’s caption links shows us the bright x-ray emissions from what is thought to be NGC 1275’s super massive black hole… perhaps even a merging of black holes. The linked image shows us that BHs do not just take away, but give off a signature by causing x-rays… but who knows the destination of black hole food or fuse? (Multiplicities becoming a singularity… Huh? What did I just say?) Two things for sure… BHF can’t go nowhere or turn into nothing because except for Uninc Caddo County, Oklahoma, USA, “nowhere” is not a place and nothing is only in my mind...
"Where ground is soft, where often grows Arise, arouse, arose a ... a rosy nose?"
It’s a good thing we aren’t heading too close to any black holes…
But I am a little bit confused… If black holes are a singularity of mass, why are they called “holes”? …If I dig a hole in the moon, there will be nothing in the hole but space. And why are they called “black” if nothing can avoid becoming part of the singularity once past the event horizon? …If I mix equal parts of the three primary colors magenta, cyan and yellow… it creates the color black - (well, almost black depending on lighting). If I add white to black, black becomes gray. I think they should be called “ancient ravenous killer stars that eat their own light” or “zombie stars”.
And just to humor imagination… If I were to survive entry past the event horizon becoming the fuse into the black hole… would I see the light from me now that I am the singularity?
Or would I be in utter darkness because my eyes are forced to look inward only to the singularity? Would I still see the nose on my face? Would I even have a face? Or would it just be the singularity to keep me company? Come to think of it… I guess I would keep myself company. One good thing, I would be singular of mind.
...So I here I sit speeding onward and outward in my galactic gumshoes… on the fringes of astronomer’s tall pews enjoying the beautiful APOD views reading the waves of cosmic news…“Asteriskly” sharing the muse and clues without paying the astronomical dues. Such a bargain, I can’t refuse although sanity is easy to lose when contemplating black hole fuse.
