Spiral Galaxies

Kevin & Andreina

*Kevin Gordon *Plantation High *Age 16 *Class of 1999	*Andreina Navarro *Stranahan High *Age 16 *Class of 1999

The radio sky is tuned to your radio telescope to 48MHz (480 million cycles per second). you should find that frequency on your dial somewhere between US broadcast channels 13 and 14. In the 1970's large disk antenas at three radio observatories were used to map the entire sky. the results showed that the gallactic plane runs horizontally though the center, but no stars are visible.

The Spiral galaxy M83's long winding arms are defined as the"Southern Pinwheel." This spiral galaxy is much like our Milky Way galaxy, which contains many billions of stars which inhabit the arms and glow strongly in blue light .

Stars might be better appreciated after they die, because of their mostartistic displays created as they die. In this process, the extended gas forms an impressive display called a "planetary nebula" that fades gradually over thousands of years. This M2-9 butterfly planetary nebula is 2100 light years away and is shown in representative colors; it's wings tell a strange-but incomplete tale!