Dracarys! This spiral galaxy in the constellation Draco is helping astronomers measure the universe
Two objects in this galaxy serve to build a "Cosmic Distance Ladder," scientists say.
The brilliant heat emanating from this celestial monster, as seen by the Hubble Space Telescope, is nothing to be alarmed about, unlike the dragon-filled television series "House of the Dragon."
In reality, it's a really useful tool for measuring the universe's expansion.
The constellation Draco (the dragon), a long serpentine region of sky that never shows in the southern sky due to its location close to the celestial north pole, contains the spiral galaxy UGC 9391.
Because some of the stars in galaxy UGC 9391's light are unique beacons, astronomers have looked into this patch of sky between the Big Dipper and Little Dipper.
UGC 9391 is depicted in a recent Hubble Space Telescope image set against a background of extremely far-off galaxies. The image was described as "lonely" on September 30.
It makes up for what it lacks in company with character.
Cepheid variable stars and a Type IA supernova are only two of the interesting light sources that make up galaxy UGC 9391, according to the European Space Agency (ESA), which runs the famous observatory alongside NASA.
These aid astronomers in calculating astronomical distances.
Brightness changes in stars are known as variable stars.
Cepheids fall under the category of intrinsic objects, which means they do not, for example, orbit a star and occasionally block its light.
Instead, it is a well-known phenomenon that these strange stars vary in size and brightness on their own.
As a result, their brightness may be used to accurately estimate the galaxy's distance.
A strange Type Ia supernova in the galaxy UGC 9391 included a white dwarf, a stellar corpse, feeding on its partner star like a zombie.
The white star's hunger continues to strain the binary system until the dead gain mass equal to around one and a half suns.
Astronomers can use the explosion's brightness as a good barometer for the galaxy's distance because these circumstances all go supernova in a similar manner.
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Edited By: Prabhjot Singh Maan ( LinkedIn ).