Space2 min read
Space
Hawaii High School Students Image Merging Galaxy Pair, Give It Hawaiian Name
Students from two Hawaii high schools used the Gemini North Telescope on Maunakea, through the Project Hōkūlani internship, to image a pair of merging spiral galaxies, NGC 7253. They named it Nā ʻUhane Māhoe Huki Pū i…
A group of high school students in Hawaii has imaged a pair of merging spiral galaxies using the Gemini North Telescope on the Maunakea volcano. The students came from Waiākea High School and the Volcano School of Arts and Sciences, and got access to the telescope through the Project Hōkūlani internship.
The students named their discovery Nā ʻUhane Māhoe Huki Pū i ke Ola, meaning The Twin Spirits Pulling Together Creating Life. The galaxy pair is formally designated NGC 7253 and lies about 200 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Pegasus, also known in Hawaiian astronomy as Ka Lupe o Kawelo.
A is the distance light travels in one year. The two galaxies are undergoing what astronomers call a — a process in which galaxies drawn together by gravity gradually combine into one. Student Samantha Silva-Sampaio said ʻUhane, meaning spirit, was an important theme for the group. She said their week on Maunakea — stargazing, touring the summit and learning about its scientific discoveries — ignited their own spirits as they prepared for life after high school.
The students said the Huki Pū part of the name, meaning pulled together, describes the physical pull between the galaxies as well as their community coming together for the discovery. They said the i ke Ola part, meaning creating life, refers to how galaxy mergers give rise to the birth of new stars. They added that they hope a star besides the sun will one day be found hosting life on a world around it. Student Manu Silva-Sampaio said ʻUhane in the image is a reminder that astronomy is not just science or spirit, but both at the same time.
Despite the dramatic gravitational interaction, individual stars in the two galaxies are unlikely to collide directly, because galaxies contain vast amounts of empty space. Instead, the interstellar gas and dust from both galaxies mix together, a process that leads to a spike in star formation within the merging pair.
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#galaxy merger#NGC 7253#Gemini North Telescope#Maunakea#Hawaii#Project Hōkūlani#astronomy
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