Lyman-alpha blob
A lyman-alpha blob is a big, colorful cloud in space that shines really brightly in a certain type of light called Lyman-alpha light. This light comes from hydrogen atoms that are excited by something, like a star or a galaxy. When these excited hydrogen atoms lose their energy, they release a burst of Lyman-alpha light.
The lyman-alpha blob is made up of a lot of these excited hydrogen atoms, and it's so big that it can be as much as hundreds of thousands of light-years across! That's like if you took a plane and flew straight for hundreds of thousands of years without stopping.
Scientists are still trying to figure out how these lyman-alpha blobs come to be. Some think they might be caused by the collision or merging of galaxies, while others think it could be from the intense radiation coming from a supermassive black hole in the center of a galaxy.
Even though they're still a bit of a mystery, lyman-alpha blobs are really cool to look at and help us learn more about the universe around us!
The lyman-alpha blob is made up of a lot of these excited hydrogen atoms, and it's so big that it can be as much as hundreds of thousands of light-years across! That's like if you took a plane and flew straight for hundreds of thousands of years without stopping.
Scientists are still trying to figure out how these lyman-alpha blobs come to be. Some think they might be caused by the collision or merging of galaxies, while others think it could be from the intense radiation coming from a supermassive black hole in the center of a galaxy.
Even though they're still a bit of a mystery, lyman-alpha blobs are really cool to look at and help us learn more about the universe around us!
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