galaxies visible with eye

Introduction

The visibility of galaxies to the naked eye is a fascinating topic that bridges the gap between amateur stargazing and professional astronomy. This synthesis explores which galaxies can be seen without the aid of telescopes and the factors influencing their visibility.

Key Insights

Andromeda Galaxy (M31) Visibility:
- The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) is the farthest object visible to the naked eye, located over 2 million light-years away. It appears several times larger than the full moon in the sky and is a prime target for novice astronomers due to its brightness and size.
Gravitational Lensing and Visibility:
- Some galaxies are seen through the effect of gravitational lensing, where a foreground galaxy amplifies and distorts the image of a background galaxy. This phenomenon can make distant galaxies appear brighter and more visible, although it often requires telescopic observation to discern the details.
Nearby Galaxies with Unique Features:
- The Evil Eye Galaxy (NGC 4826) is notable for its absorbing dust lane and regions of ongoing star formation. While not typically visible to the naked eye, its unique features make it an interesting subject for telescopic observation.

Conclusion

The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) stands out as the most distant galaxy visible to the naked eye, offering a spectacular view for amateur astronomers. While gravitational lensing can enhance the visibility of distant galaxies, it generally requires telescopic assistance to appreciate fully. Other nearby galaxies, like NGC 4826, though not visible without aid, present intriguing features for those with access to telescopes.

Galaxies visible with eye

Summary

Introduction

Key Insights

Conclusion

Sources and full results

Galaxies as Gravitational Lenses

Gravitational lenses can produce distorted and amplified images of distant galaxies, allowing us to study their morphological configurations.

Extended Red Emission in the Evil Eye Galaxy (NGC 4826)

Extended red emission (ERE) is observed in the Evil Eye galaxy (NGC 4826), originating from photoluminescence by nanometer-sized clusters, with its radial variation strongly dependent on the strength and hardness of the illuminating radiation field.

November: The Great Galaxies

The Great Andromeda Galaxy is a great target for novice astronomers, with its bright core and dimmer areas making it easy to capture with RGB imaging or single-shot color imaging.

A study of interstellar gas and stars in the gravitationally lensed galaxy 'the Cosmic Eye' from rest-frame ultraviolet spectroscopy

The Cosmic Eye's interstellar gas and stars show complex interactions, with the redshifted component potentially providing the dust 'foreground screen' responsible for the low ratio of far-infrared to UV luminosities.

Visibility of galaxies

Our knowledge of galaxies is heavily biased by the sky background, and the true population of extra-galactic space may be very different from the one we can see.

II. LARGE-SCALE DISTRIBUTION OF GALAXIES: FILAMENTARY STRUCTURE AND VISUAL BIAS

The minimal spanning tree (MST) procedure, combined with data-permuting techniques, effectively confirms the presence of filamentary features in the distribution of galaxies, challenging visual cues but questioning subjective interpretation.

X-ray clusters of galaxies as tracers of structure in the Universe

X-ray clusters of galaxies reveal a low-density, cold dark matter-dominated Universe, consistent with predictions for a low-density universe dominated by cold dark matter.

The visibility of high redshift galaxies

High-redshift galaxies have a progressively brighter surface brightness, affecting observational studies of galaxy evolution and potentially distorting the observed luminosity function at high z.

WHY DO THE NAKED-EYE STARS APPEAR TO BE COUNTLESS?

The Milky Way, with its countless stars, creates the false impression of innumerableness in the naked-eye stars.

A high abundance of massive galaxies 3–6 billion years after the Big Bang

At least two-thirds of massive galaxies appeared after the Big Bang, but a significant fraction were already present in the early Universe.

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