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Andromeda
By Kaitlyn Ferreri
Andromeda’s Black Hole
• Scientists now know from some measurements that there is a super
massive black hole in the galaxies center of Andromeda. They
discovered that it is 30 million times heavier than the Sun. The black
hole does not show up on radios or in X-ray imaging. This contrasts
with the active black holes in other galaxies, which are avidly
consuming material and producing bright radio waves and X-rays.
Most large galaxies have a super massive black hole in their center,
and most of them are don’t show up either. Galaxies with bigger
bulges usually have heavier black holes.
The Stars In Andromeda
• Andromeda is a very easy galaxy to find in the sky because of it’s
constellations surrounding it, Cassiopeia is a constellation right
above Andromeda and is easily found because of its W shape. The
Great Square of Pegasus is close to Andromeda. The brightest star
in the Great Square of Pegasus is actually considered part of
Andromeda. The magnitude of this star is 2.06 the star is called
Alpheratz. Alpheratz lies 97 light-years away. Another magnitude
2.06 star, Mirach, sits at the upper left of Alpheratz. Mirach lies 199
light-years away. The third brightest star in Andromeda is magnitude
2.1 Almach, it sits at the upper left of Mirach. Almach lies 354 lightyears away.
Andromeda’s History
• Andromeda is named for the daughter of King Cepheus and Queen
Cassiopeia of Ethiopia. When Cassiopeia bragged that
Andromeda’s beauty went beyond that of the sea nymphs, they
prevailed against Neptune, the god of the sea, to punish Cassiopeia.
Neptune sent the sea monster Cetus (just simply a whale) to ravage
the kingdom of Cepheus. When Cepheus consulted a speech for
advice, he was informed that only the sacrifice of Andromeda to
Cetus the Sea Monster would please the gods. So, chained to a
rocky cliff, she was rescued by Perseus, who turned Cetus into a
stone by flashing the face of Medusa right before the monster’s
eyes. Perseus was carried away just in time by the winged horse
Pegasus. All of these have constellations and are located in the
same region of the sky as the others.
Polar Planes In Andromeda
• Polar Planes containing many of the Milky Way's companion
galaxies were found about three decades ago by William Kunkel
and Donald Lynden-Bell. One theory is that such satellite galaxies
are left-over's from the break-up of a bigger galaxy which has since
been swallowed. A second possibility is that the observed alignment
with the poles of spiral galaxies' disks traces the invisible distribution
of non-luminous, dark matter around these galaxies. It is also
possible that the observed orientation along a plane is a
consequence of the in fall of one or more satellites along dark
matter, as cosmological models predict density fluctuations or matter
concentrations which would attract neighboring clumps and
continued growth that lead to streams of dark and luminous matter
along filamentary features of the cosmic web.
Facts
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Andromeda is wider and could be brighter than our own Milky Way.
Andromeda’s disk is now believed to span as much as 228,000 light years
in width.
Andromeda’s disk is also about twice as large as the Milky Way’s.
The brightest star cloud in Andromeda is NGC 206.
There are two “dust rings” in Andromeda’s disk caused by a head on
collision with a neighboring dwarf planet.
Andromeda’s core has a super massive black hole of around 140 million
solar masses.
Andromeda’s surrounding galaxies include galaxy M32 and galaxy M110,
two dwarf elliptical galaxies.
Using the Hubble Space Telescope astronomers have discovered that there
are about 300,000 stars in Andromeda’s Halo.
Only one supernova has been discovered in Andromeda so far, Supernova
1885
There has been evidence of a warp in Andromeda’s spiral disk that
scientist has found overtime.
Constellation: Taurus
(Section 2)
By: Kaitlyn Ferreri
The History Of Taurus
• Years ago in ancient Egypt, archaeologists unearthed the tomb of
the Apis-bulls and couldn’t believe what they had found. Leading to
the tomb was a paved avenue lined by lions that were carved out of
stone. To enter the tomb they had to walk through a long and high
arched narrow passageway cut into the rock. It extended for about
2,000 feet and was only 20 feet wide and 20 feet tall. Many inside
parts along each side of the corridor had been carved into the rock
and each held the remains of Apis-bulls.
Spring was the time when festivals honoring the Apis-bulls were
held. It was also a time when the Nile River gently overflowed onto
its banks and brought water onto the land. At this time in history was
in that constellation we now recognize as Taurus, the Bull. So for
many centuries Taurus was to be the first and most important
constellation of the Zodiac. Some have suggested that Taurus may
have been the first Zodiac constellation ever invented.
What Makes Up This Constellation
• The constellation shows mainly the horns. The left
(southern) horn starts from the group of stars known as
The Hyades, of which Aldebaran seems to be a member
of. It extends to the eastern edge of the constellation.
The right horn lifts up just to the west of the constellation
from delta Tauri through tau Tauri and finally to its tip at
beta Tauri. The rest of the bull is made up of a slender
body and two long, thin legs.
The Stars In Taurus
• Taurus' eye is very bright. It is made up of an giant
orange star about 40 times the size of the Sun. It is
named Aldebaran, Aldebaran is a very old star. For
billions of years it has burned hydrogen until there was
little left. Its future won't be as spectacular as a
supernova but rather a dimming into a dwarf star. If you
follow the lower horn out to its tip you will find zeta Tauri.
This is a shell star. Shell stars are stars which rotate
constantly, causing them to lose matter to an alwaysexpanding shell. The stars to the west of Taurus are The
Hyades.
When It Can Be Seen
• From October the 12th till December the 2nd the
northern branch of the Taurids can be seen. The
maximum of the shower activity occurs from November
4th to November 7th. The Southern Taurids can be seen
from September 17th to November 27th. The Beta
Taurids come out during the day. You can see them on
June 5th and lasting till July 18th.
How Taurus Is Shaped
• Taurus is marked by a V-shaped pattern of stars that
outlines the bull's face. Bright red Aldebaran, the "eye" of
the bull, stands at one point. This is part of a cluster of
stars called the Hyades — the second-closest cluster of
stars to Earth. It consists of several hundred stars that lie
about 130 light-years away from us. Aldebaran outshines
all the other stars that outline the face. But Aldebaran
isn't a member of the Hyades cluster, it just lies in the
same direction as it. It's about 70 light-years away.
Bibliography
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