Star Nucleation Amped Up by Tidal Effects

Star Nucleation Amped Up by Tidal Effects

Spiral galaxies can vary widely in the amount of stars they are generating. It is asserted that star nucleation, via the imposition of high pressure over small volumes of molecular cloud, is the rate determining step. Turbulence of molecular clouds in galaxies is greatly increased when the chaotic, but stable, spiral galactic structure is disturbed by tidal effects of nearby galaxies. In this posting, the three main galaxies of the Leo triplet are used to illustrate and link the chain of events from tidal influence to rapid star production in the galaxies we image.

The Hidden Galaxy – Now you see it

The Hidden Galaxy – Now you see it

IC342/Caldwell 5 – The Hidden Galaxy in LHaRGB Planewave CDK 12.5in; AP 1100GTO AE; QHY600M, – Baader Cmos Opt Broadband and 6.5nm Ha FiltersL: (50 x 180s, Bin 1, Gain 100); H: (29 x 720s Bin 1, Gain 100); R,G,B: (25,23,22 x 210s, Bin 1, Gain 100)Total integration time = 12.4 hrs (Feb 10-12, 2025) Maple Bay, BC, Canada For full resolution, downloadable image, visit my gallery at Victoria RASC Zenfolio or Astobin The Hidden Galaxy gets its name from its position in the sky, near the Milky Way and partly obscured by our galaxy’s dust.   If not for the dust, IC342 would be visible with the naked eye and occupy about the same size as the moon. In reality

The Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) – In for Questioning

The Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) – In for Questioning

The M51 Galaxy or “The Whirlpool Galaxy” definitely strikes an awsome pose, with its two apparent “centres”, and multiple star fuzzies emanating from its extremes. I decided to get all Sherlock Holmesy on it in my desire to figure out what was going on. Yes it is two glalaxies interacting, but what is the nature of this interaction. What happened to its bottom arm? – it looks like it was bitten off. The upper arm looks more intact, but also exhibiting Halpha starburst too. Is the bottom of the galaxy connected to the top with stars circling the left hand side? Can infrared light help us? Can it potentially reveal something? I recommend reading more to find out.

Circulation and Jewelry – The Galactic Spiral Structure (Part 5)

Circulation and Jewelry – The Galactic Spiral Structure (Part 5)

In the ultimate post of the series, we finally get to add some of the things that we image in galaxies – emissions, dust, and stars, to the stuff we can’t see – hydrogen and black holes. The stuff we can see brings life to the galaxy and are indeed necessarily for its longevity and new star production.
Gravity is shown to be periodic both in radial and angular directions, just like the spiral, but the various forces at play effect the galactic jewelry in different ways to give us regions of emissions, dust lanes, and star orbits. Explanations are provides as to why the arms can extend for radii way beyond what we do see, why dark matter is unnecessary (just a hydrogen accounting error). The spiral structure even explains why velocity vs radius plots look periodic when even dark matter doesn’t explain it.

Winding Problem Solved – Galactic Spiral Structure (Part 4)

Winding Problem Solved – Galactic Spiral Structure (Part 4)

If the galaxy were a disk, gravity would act toward the centre of the galaxy, centrifugal forces in the opposite direction, and viscous drag perpendicular to both. In a galactic spiral structure, this is not the case as components of all three forces act along and perpendicular to the spiral arms. This gives spiral shapes the ability to avoid the arms winding upon each other, and even orbits spots that aren’t at the galactic centre. Force balances on the spiral arms, show how this comes together in this detailed analysis. The post is long, but I think insightful and revealing. Coupled with the thermodynamics of hydrogen – even does away for the need for dark matter.

From Torus to Spiral Disk – Galactic Spiral Structure (Part 3)

From Torus to Spiral Disk – Galactic Spiral Structure (Part 3)

Introducing viscous drag and fluid mechanics into what shapes a spiral galaxy. Astrophysicists avoid fluid mechanics like the plague, but understanding this energy disapative force is the only way to understand how spirals work. Shortcuts only lead to weird and fantastic stories, many of which are accepted in popular descriptions. Spiral flow patterns are common here on earth (some, like hurricanes are too common) and so this topic deserves an earthly description.