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Fortune cookie: winning lottery numbers hidden in the stars?
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This gorgeous sky candy is officially called NGC 2442. I think it looks more like a fortune cookie.
The folks at the Astronomy PIcture of the Day give us the science behind the fortune cookie, located:
in the southern constellation of the flying fish, (Piscis) Volans. Located about 50 million light-years away, the galaxy's two spiral arms extending from a pronounced central bar give it a hook-shaped appearance. This deep color image also shows the arms' obscuring dust lanes, young blue star clusters and reddish star forming regions surrounding a core of yellowish light from an older population of stars. But the star forming regions seem more concentrated along the drawn-out (right side) spiral arm. The distorted structure is likely the result of an ancient close encounter with the smaller galaxy seen near the top left of this field of view. The two interacting galaxies are separated by about 150,000 light-years at the estimated distance of NGC 2442.
So, if I count up the numbers of different objects in the photo, factor in how many light years they are away, and create a formula that's so complex it stretches across several walls, could I come up with the winning numbers for the lottery? Nah. Starting with the anxiety-inducing "create a formula"--i.e. High Math--it's a non-flyer of an idea.
Maybe. Then again, Mary Chapin-Carpenter's I Take My Chances pretty well covers the chaotic nature of buying those lottery tickets. The images with this video include one from Mars exploration.
Happy Saturday, everyone. And here's today's fortune cookie: science brings much fun!
Image credit: APOD and Australian astrophotographer Martin Pugh.
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