Some crazy (or less crazy) thoughts and questions?

[xkillswitchx]

Hello all, Im pretty new. I have been getting more and more into star gazing and wondering what is up there for us and have a few questions / observations. I don't currently own a tele, but have been looking at the Dobsonians. Good for a beginner with plenty of strength and time (not to mention I am tech savvy) ?<br /><br />Now for simple image observations I have been wondering about. I notice alot of spiral galaxies look to be whirling into a compact center. What is the brightly lit center? I've often though maybe the galaxy was formed due to a black hole pulling matter towards it, and we can only see the gases due to its proximity to the black hole (and the brightly lit center would then be just so much super heated and compated matter?)<br /><br />Also, if I was looking through a telescope up at any distant galaxy, would I really be seeing it billons of light years ago, or would it really be longer than what we would assume? If we are free falling through space, our rate of speed would most likely differ than any other objects, so could this affect the light we are actually seeing?<br /><br />I've also had this strange though on my mind ... what would happen if black holes consumed all matter in the universe and can a black hole consume dark matter? <br /><br />Sorry about the questions, its just space of deep interest to me and I HAVE to know as much about it as I can. If you know any good reading or articles on teh web, I would love to check it out.

 

[MeteorWayne]

Welcome to Space.com!!<br /><br />I'll address your questions briefly, it's late here <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /><br /><br /><br />While Spiral galaxies look like they are whirling into the center, they actually aren't. It's more or less an optical illusion.<br /><br />What you see as the spiralling arms is really just starbursts occurring on million year scales. Where over that time the gas has been denser, millions of stars are forming. The dark lanes between are where the gas is thinner, so "only" thousands of stars are forming.<br /><br />As far as how old the light is, light travels at the speed of light.<br />So when you look at somethinglike M31, the Andromeda Galaxy that light has been travelling at 186,000 miles per second for at least 2.8 million years!!!!<br /><br />Black holes only consume matter that gets really close. Even in the center of galaxies, very little stuff comes that close. So from more than a few dozen AU away, a black hole is just a lot of mass in a small area.<br /><br />Good questions, hope I've helped answer them.<br /><br />Followups are allowed <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /><br /><br /><br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[alokmohan]

There are unfounded fear on black holes.It does not gobble unless you are near its nose.But they live on stray matters that venture too near.