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Gemini Observatory Probes Galaxy NGC 1068 Churning Core

Posted by chrisd on from the you-put-your-spectrograph-in-my-fiber dept.

Mr. Intel writes: "Using the Gemini Telescope at Mauna Kea, scientists have created a 3D movie of a distant galaxy. How you ask? By using a new instrument, the Integral Field Unitor or IFU, they can collect vast amounts of light and scan the beams using 1500 special optical fibers. This allows the researchers to track stars and interstellar gas motion in the galaxy. There is a press release and an images page. SciAm also has an article."

1 of 6 comments (clear)

  1. Bright enough for binoculars by mgarraha · · Score: 2, Informative

    NGC 1068 is also known as M 77. It's one of the nearest galaxies to us. You can see it faintly in 7x50 binoculars if you look in the right place.