As we all know, when it comes to a good place to live, it’s all about location, location, location. Unfortunately, it looks like a newly discovered outer arm of the Milky Way may not be the best place to find alien life. It
was discovered by two astronomers from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center
for Astrophysics (CfA), but one expert believes that life is more likely
to be found lurking towards the galaxy’s centre.
The new spiral lies at the end of the Scutum-Centaurus Arm, around 50,000 light years from the centre. The discovery marks a huge leap forward in our understanding of the Milky Way's shape. It may surprise you, but the beautiful symmetrical spiral shape we see in pictures is actually pure speculation. Huge amounts of interstellar dust blocks our view of the cosmos, so astronomers have assumed its shape from what we are able to observe – which is roughly half the galaxy. This changed after Thomas Dame and colleague Patrick Thaddeus pointed their surprisingly modest four-foot telescope on the roof of the CfA in Massachusetts at the Milky Way’s distant rim.
They found a new section full of condensed molecular gas measuring about 60,000 light years in length. It represents a huge piece of the galactic jigsaw. However, it may not be the best place for life to have evolved. The
University of California’s Virginia Trimble, who studies the evolution
of galaxies, believes that metal-rich planets such as Earth, which are
ideal for life, are more likely to be found near the centre of the Milky
Way. If
life has evolved in the outer reaches, though – it could well be
billions of years in advance of our civilisation as the stars there are
around twice the age of the Sun.
Newly discovered: Our galaxy's extension to
Scutum-Centaurus is about 60,000 light years long. Much of the Milky Way
is only assumed to exist
The new spiral lies at the end of the Scutum-Centaurus Arm, around 50,000 light years from the centre. The discovery marks a huge leap forward in our understanding of the Milky Way's shape. It may surprise you, but the beautiful symmetrical spiral shape we see in pictures is actually pure speculation. Huge amounts of interstellar dust blocks our view of the cosmos, so astronomers have assumed its shape from what we are able to observe – which is roughly half the galaxy. This changed after Thomas Dame and colleague Patrick Thaddeus pointed their surprisingly modest four-foot telescope on the roof of the CfA in Massachusetts at the Milky Way’s distant rim.
Spaced out: The popular symmetrical image of the Milky Way
London – Seperti banyak diyakini ilmuwan, lokasi menjadi faktor terpenting saat membicarakan tempat tinggal. Sayangnya, di lengan hilang galaksi Bima Sakti tak ada tanda-tanda itu. Lengan hilang ini ditemukan astronom dari Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA). Di sisi lain, ada satu ahli yang yakin kehidupan lebih mungkin ditemukan di pusat galaksi.
BalasHapusSpiral baru ini berada di ujung Scutum-Centaurus Arm, sekitar 50 ribu tahun cahaya dari pusat galaksi. Penemuan ini menandai lompatan besar ke arah pemahaman bentuk Bima Sakti. Sejumlah besar debu luar angkasa menghalangi pandangan kita pada kosmos ini.
Berkat teleskop CfA di Massachusetts, astronom Thomas Dame dan Patrick Thaddeus berhasil menemukannya. Kedua astronom ini menemukan bagian baru gas molekul sepanjang 60 ribu tahun cahaya. Sayangnya, mereka menilai tempat ini bukanlah tempat terbaik bagi kehidupan untuk bisa berevolusi.