Discovered a Cosmic ‘Megamaser’

The galaxy possesses far more amazing and futuristic classification than most. It hosts a megamaser. For those who are not aware, Megamasers are highly bright, around 100 million time brighter than the masers identified in galaxies like the Milky Way. The entire galaxy mainly functions as an astronomical laser that beams out microwave emission rather than just visible light.

A megamaser is the process that involves some elements within the galaxy that is in the accurate physical condition to cause the amplification of light. But there are other parts of the galaxy that are not just part of the maser process. This megamaser galaxy is named as IRAS 16399-0937 and is situated over 370 million light years from the Earth. This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image considers the galaxy’s energetic nature, rather than painting it as a beautiful and serene cosmic rosebud.

The image includes observations captured across numerous wavelengths by two of the Hubble’s Instruments – the Advanced Camera for Surveys and the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer or NICMOS.

Hubble gazes at a cosmic 'megamaser'

NICMOS’s amazing sensitivity, resolution, and field of view gave astronomers the special opportunity to observe the construction of IRAS 16399-0937 in detail. They identified it hosts a double nucleus – the galaxy’s core is considered to be formed of two separate cores in the procedure of merging. The two elements, named IRAS 16399S an 16399N for the southern and northern parts respectively rest over 11,000 light – years apart. But, they are both settled deep within the same swirl of cosmic gas and dust and are linking device the galaxy its peculiar structure.

The nuclei are very distinct. IRAS 16399S appears to be a starburst area, where novel stars are creating at an incredible rate. IRAS 16399N, but is something very much familiar and known as a LINER nucleus or Low Ionization Nuclear Emission Region. LINER or Low Ionization Nuclear Emission Region is an area whose emission mostly stems from neural atoms of specific gases. The northern nucleus also hosts a black hole with around 100 million times the overall mass of the sun.