Russians in revolt: Annexing Crimea but losing your soul

By Christopher Majka | July 30, 2014

Link:  http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/christophermajka/2014/07/russians-revolt-annexing-crimea-losing-your-soul

 

The conduct of Russian president Vladimir Putin has been generating international opprobrium for many months, ever since his forcible annexation of Crimea and egregious attempts to destabilize eastern Ukraine.

As I pointed out in Blundering in Ukraine: Putin's strategic debacle, even viewed from the Kremlin's own perspective:

"Putin's short-term tactical successes … are virtually irrelevant in light of short- and long-term strategic blunders that have not only undone much of what Putin hoped to achieve with his Ukrainian gambit, but have actually significantly eroded Putin's political support and harmed Russia's position. Indeed, that the whole venture appears to be a top-to-bottom [disaster].

"The results of Putin's "Ukrainian campaign" have ranged from calamitous to disastrous. Almost every salient aspect of the Putin doctrine has been substantially undermined by what can already be seen as a Ukrainian debacle."

Not apparently, that this has changed Putin's determination to forge ahead with this tragic approach that is shredding Russia's credibility and reputation throughout the world.

Russian extremists: From über-fascists to neo-Stalinists 

One might assume that Putin's folly is a shared characteristic of Russians who are consumed with an imperialistic thirst to swallow their neighbours and return to a Czarist-era authoritarian, totalitarian, imperialistic, and monotheistic Orthodox state -- and indeed there are some who aspire to precisely that. In Ukrainian aspirations: Material, moral, and spiritual dignity I highlighted extreme ultra-fascists such as Alexander Dugin with his National Bolshevik Front, and neo-Stalinists like Sergei Kurginian and his paramilitary Kurginian Army. There are no shortage of others. There is even the profoundly shocking Russian Orthodox Fascist movement. The documentary, Orthodox Fascism in Russia by Mikhail Baranov is in Russian with no subtitles, but even for those who do not speak the language, the message is crystal clear. "Orthodoxy or Death" is one of their slogans.

 

Russians march for peace


However, there are many Russians who do not share these convictions or this vision. In Faces of war and peace on Moscow streets, my collaborative article with Russian photojournalist, Ilya Varlamov, we profiled some of these with striking images taken by Varlamov at a massive "March for Peace" in Moscow in which more than 50,000 people participated.  These were Muscovites, who in an atmosphere of increasing tension and intimidation, took to the streets to demonstrate solidarity with their Ukrainian friends, relatives, and neighbours. "No to Intervention! Yes to Revolution!", "The Occupation of Crimea is a Disgrace for Russia!", and "Freedom to the People! Death to Imperialism!" were some of the banners they marched under.


Russian intellectuals: Defying the propaganda on Ukraine 

During the height of the annexation of Crimea, an Anti-war Congress of Russian writers, thinkers, artists, politicians, historians, political scientists, and human rights activists was convened in Moscow. The Congress issued an appeal that said [translations by C.G. Majka]:

"Our country has been plunged into a dangerous adventure. Under the slogan "Protect Russians in Crimea, as well as Ukrainians from the illegitimate fascist Government in Ukraine!" the de facto annexation of the Crimea has already come about. This is a gross violation of international law, and a destruction of the principles of European security and stability. Russia is rapidly sliding to a new Cold War with the West, the terrible consequences of which cannot be predicted."

The statement issued by the Congress [moderated by Irina Prohorova, a writer, literary critic, and co-founder of the philanthropic Mikhail Prohorov Foundation]  noted that all state-owned media in Russia, "are creating a turbulent stream of lies and misinformation, and a deafening propaganda campaign against anyone who tries to question the legality of the actions of the authorities." They point out the devastating consequences of this for the country and for the people saying

"All dissenting beliefs are indiscriminately called "fifth columnist and fascist." And there are many who do not agree. Just read the uncensored reports through SMI [a website networking service] or numerous evaluations on social networks, to see what political scientists, economists, foreign policy experts, and simply ordinary people with a social conscience are saying. They are warning that disaster is looming for Russia -- economically, politically, and from a humanitarian perspective." 

Those who signed the statement included many leading Russian intellectuals including human rights activists Lyudmila Alekseeva, Svetlana Gannushkina and Sergei Kovalev, writers Boris Akunin, Andrey Bitov, Vladimir Voynovich and Viktor Yerofeyev, actors Liya Ahedzhakova, Mikhail Efremov, Lev Prygunov and Aleksandr Filippenko, singer and rock musician Andrei Makarevich, directors Pavel Bardin and Eldar Ryazanov, mathematician Viktor Vasilyev and more than 90 others.

Do not cave-in. Do not yield to lies


At the same time the Russian Center of PEN issued a declaration signed by 850 leading Russian writers, journalists, philologists, publishers, directors, jurists, doctors, poets, teachers, musicians, engineers, pastors, translators, psychologists, geographers, painters, photographers, mathematicians, curators, bankers, critics, economists, sociologists, aviation engineers, ecologists, archeologists, physicists, biologists, teachers … the list goes on and on and on … entitled Do not cave-in. Do not yield to lies. I've taken the liberty of translating the manifesto.

The anti-war statement of the Russian intelligentsia
Not for the first time in the history of the Russian people, those who don't agree with an aggressive imperial policy, are labeled defeatists and enemies of the people. Not for the first time is loyalty valued above civic responsibility. Events in Crimea are rapidly evolving and are fraught with the serious possibility of bloodshed, shame for Russia, and misery for the people of the two countries. Hopes to stop this by reason are diminishing. But it is shameful to stay silent and passively stand by. We are not calling ourselves "leaders" in culture or science, but simply Russian intellectuals, each working in their respective fields, and we declare:
• We are against the invasion of the territory of another state;
• We are against the war with Ukraine and enmity with the world community;
• We stand in solidarity with all those who do not bow down to lies.

Losing Crimea or losing your soul?
In understanding Russia what's vitally important to bear in mind is, as the placard carried by the young woman marching in Moscow says, "We are Russia – Not Putin."



The ever-perceptive Doug Saunders in his excellent article Putin's war of ideas cuts to the heart of Europe in the Globe and Mail writes:

"Mr. Putin’s assault on the idea of Europe is three-pronged. First, as he told his country’s parliament in a March speech justifying the takeover of Crimea, he is waging this war in the name of ethnic nationalism -- he is doing so, he said, in order to “defend the interests” of “millions of [ethnic] Russians and Russian-speaking people.”
"Second, Mr. Putin is doing this in the name of something very similar to imperialism, albeit without the means or ability to really carry it out: An expressed desire to control any territories where Russian is spoken and secession can be engineered (including not just Crimea and eastern Ukraine but also the periphery of Georgia). And third, as a leader who has effectively ended democracy in his own country, he is attacking Ukraine in opposition to the democratic desires expressed freely and fairly by its people.
"In other words, Mr. Putin is challenging the three core ideas of the postwar peace. The Brussels-based institutions of modern Europe were built in order to prevent authoritarianism, imperialism and ethnic nationalism from ever again taking root in the continent and leading it to war. It has worked well."

The "new war" unleashed by Vladimir Putin is not about ethnicity, nor language, nor even territory. It is a war on the very concept of contemporary liberal democracy. A war on the idea of a modern democratic state. A war on pluralism, tolerance, secularism, the rule of law, and of negotiated solutions to disputes. A war on freedom of expression, freedom of the press, democratic institutions, meaningful elections, and an independent judiciary.

This is what the conspiracy theorists Putin-apologists and useful idiots utterly fail to grasp. All the silly pretexts, the purported defense of "Russian-speakers", the longing and destiny of Crimea to return to the fold of "Mother Russia," the Ukrainian "fascist" government; the behind-the-scenes CIA manipulation of the Euromaidan movement, the absurd "false flag" operation theories (Nudge, nudge - hint, hint: It was really the Ukrainian army who shot down the Malaysia Airlines plane masquerading as Russian insurgents. Clever, eh what?), the claims that MH-17 was lured to site or was already filled with dead bodies (In order to then blame the Russian-backed insurgents for killing the passengers. Fiendishly clever!) -- all the increasingly absurd and flimsy propaganda and disinformation -- all these are completely beside the point.



They are, as Saunders points out, part of Vladimir Putin's, "attempt to manufacture a civilizational showdown." Threatened by democracy, pluralism, tolerance, and modernism, it is an attempt to substitute an autocratic, authoritarian, totalitarian, and imperialistic vision instead. However, as Saunders points out, "Russia is not acting out of projected strength, as it did in Soviet times, but out of internal political and economic weakness of a profound degree."
It's a great credit that a wide swath of educated Russians recognize this for exactly what it is -- an attempt to return to an "aggressive imperial policy" with dissidents labeled as "fifth columnists, defeatists, and fascists."
Lead by courageous visionaries such as Andrei Sakharov, Russian dissidents struggled for decades to rid the country of such reactionary attitudes and governments. When Mikhail Gorbachev's policies of perestroika and glasnost finally took root, it seemed like a new page in Russian history was being turned. Vladimir Putin is attempting to lead Russia back to a future combining some of the worst elements of Czarism and Bolshevism.
How is it that Putin's forcible annexation of Crimea (purportedly to defend the rights of Russian speakers) differs from Hitler's annexation of the Sudetenland (purportedly to defend the rights of German speakers)? How are Putin's imperial designs over Ukraine different from Stalin's imperial designs over all of Eastern Europe? As a society we need to be able to recognize authoritarianism, imperialism, and neo-fascism when they "whack us upside the head." Like the many courageous Russian citizens who write, speak, and march (at far greater risk than us) we must not stay silent and stand passively by.


Russia has as much at stake in this conflict as does Ukraine -- perhaps more. Ukraine may have lost Crimea, but Russia is in danger of losing its soul.

This is Part VII of a series on the political situation of Ukraine. Part VI is Ukrainian aspirations: Material, moral, and spiritual dignity.

Christopher Majka is an ecologist environmentalist, and policy analyst. He has a Russian Studies degree from Dalhousie University and the Pushkin Institute in Moscow. He is a research associate of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives-NS and a member of the Project Democracy team.

Andromeda Galaxy -- M-31

Andromeda Galaxy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andromeda_Galaxy

   

Andromeda Galaxy
The Andromeda Galaxy
Observation data (J2000 epoch)
Pronunciation	/ænˈdrɒmɨdə/
Constellation	Andromeda
Right ascension	00h 42m 44.3s[1]
Declination	+41° 16′ 9″[1]
Redshift	z = -0.001001 (minus sign indicates blueshift)[1]
Helio radial velocity	−301 ± 1 km/s[2]
Distance	2.54 ± 0.11 Mly (778 ± 33 kpc)[2][3][4][5][6][a]
Type	SA(s)b[1]
Mass	~1×1012[2][7] M☉
size (ly)	~100kly diameter
Number of stars	1 trillion (1012)[8]
Apparent dimensions (V)	190′ × 60′[1]
Apparent magnitude (V)	3.44[9][10]
Absolute magnitude (V)	−21.5[b][4]
Other designations
M31, NGC 224, UGC 454, PGC 2557, 2C 56 (Core),[1] LEDA 2557

The Andromeda Galaxy /ænˈdrɒmɨdə/ is a spiral galaxy approximately 2.5 million light-years (2.4×10¹⁹ km) from Earth^[4] in the Andromeda constellation. Also known as Messier 31, M31, or NGC 224, it is often referred to as the Great Andromeda Nebula in older texts. The Andromeda Galaxy is the nearest spiral galaxy to our Milky Way galaxy, but not the nearest galaxy overall. It gets its name from the area of the sky in which it appears, the constellation of Andromeda, which was named after the mythological princess Andromeda. The Andromeda Galaxy is the largest galaxy of the Local Group, which also contains the Milky Way, the Triangulum Galaxy, and about 30 other smaller galaxies. Although the largest, the Andromeda Galaxy may not be the most massive, as recent findings suggest that the Milky Way contains more dark matter and could be the most massive in the grouping.^[11] The 2006 observations by the Spitzer Space Telescope revealed that M31 contains one trillion (10¹²) stars:^[8] at least twice the number of stars in the Milky Way galaxy, which is estimated to be 200–400 billion.^[12]

The Andromeda Galaxy is estimated to be 7.1×10¹¹ solar masses.^[2] In comparison a 2009 study estimated that the Milky Way and M31 are about equal in mass,^[13] while a 2006 study put the mass of the Milky Way at ~80% of the mass of the Andromeda Galaxy. The two galaxies are expected to collide in 3.75 billion years, eventually merging to form a giant elliptical galaxy.^[14]

At 3.4, the apparent magnitude of Andromeda Galaxy is one of the brightest of any Messier objects,^[15] making it visible to the naked eye on moonless nights even when viewed from areas with moderate light pollution. Although it appears more than six times as wide as the full Moon when photographed through a larger telescope, only the brighter central region is visible to the naked eye or when viewed using binoculars or a small telescope.

The Andromeda Galaxy as seen by NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer

The measured distance to the Andromeda Galaxy was doubled in 1953 when it was discovered that there is another, dimmer type of Cepheid. In the 1990s, measurements of both standard red giants as well as red clump stars from the Hipparcos satellite measurements were used to calibrate the Cepheid distances.^[35][36]

Formation and history

According to a team of astronomers reporting in 2010, M31 was formed out of the collision of two smaller galaxies between 5 and 9 billion years ago.^[37]

A paper published in 2012^[38] has outlined M31's basic history since its birth. According to it, Andromeda was born roughly 10 billion years ago from the merger of many smaller protogalaxies, leading to a galaxy smaller than the one we see today.

The most important event in M31's past history was the merger mentioned above that took place 8 billion years ago. This violent collision formed most of its (metal-rich) galactic halo and extended disk and during that epoch Andromeda's star formation would have been very high, to the point of becoming a luminous infrared galaxy for roughly 100 million years.

M31 and the Triangulum Galaxy (M33) had a very close passage 2–4 billion years ago. This event produced high levels of star formation across the Andromeda Galaxy's disk – even some globular clusters – and disturbed M33's outer disk.

While there has been activity during the last 2 billion years, this has been much lower than during the past. During this epoch, star formation throughout M31's disk decreased to the point of nearly shutting down, then increased again relatively recently. There have been interactions with satellite galaxies like M32, M110, or others that have already been absorbed by M31. These interactions have formed structures like Andromeda's Giant Stellar Stream. A merger roughly 100 million years ago is believed to be responsible for a counter-rotating disk of gas found in the center of M31 as well as the presence there of a relatively young (100 million years old) stellar population.

Recent distance estimate

At least four distinct techniques have been used to measure distances to the Andromeda Galaxy.
In 2003, using the infrared surface brightness fluctuations (I-SBF) and adjusting for the new period-luminosity value of Freedman et al. 2001 and using a metallicity correction of −0.2 mag dex⁻¹ in (O/H), an estimate of 2.57 ± 0.06 megalight-years (788 ± 18 kpc) was derived.

The Andromeda Galaxy pictured in ultraviolet light by GALEX

Using the Cepheid variable method, an estimate of 2.51 ± 0.13 Mly (770 ± 40 kpc) was reported in 2004.^[2][3]

In 2005 Ignasi Ribas (CSIC, Institute for Space Studies of Catalonia (IEEC)) and colleagues announced the discovery of an eclipsing binary star in the Andromeda Galaxy. The binary star, designated M31VJ00443799+4129236,^[c] has two luminous and hot blue stars of types O and B. By studying the eclipses of the stars, which occur every 3.54969 days, the astronomers were able to measure their sizes. Knowing the sizes and temperatures of the stars, they were able to measure the absolute magnitude of the stars. When the visual and absolute magnitudes are known, the distance to the star can be measured. The stars lie at a distance of 2.52 ± 0.14 Mly (773 ± 43 kpc) and the whole Andromeda Galaxy at about 2.5 Mly (770 kpc).^[4] This new value is in excellent agreement with the previous, independent Cepheid-based distance value.

M31 is close enough that the Tip of the Red Giant Branch (TRGB) method may also be used to estimate its distance. The estimated distance to M31 using this technique in 2005 yielded 2.56 ± 0.08 Mly (785 ± 25 kpc).^[5]

Averaged together, all these distance measurements give a combined distance estimate of
2.54 ± 0.11 Mly (779 ± 34 kpc).^[a] Based upon the above distance, the diameter of M31 at the widest point is estimated to be 141 ± 3 kly (43,230 ± 920 pc).^[d] Applying trigonometry (arctangent), that figures to extending at an apparent 3.18° angle in the sky.

Mass and luminosity estimates

Mass

Mass estimates for the Andromeda Galaxy's halo (including dark matter) give a value of approximately 1.23×10¹² M_☉^[7] (or 1.2 trillion solar masses) compared to 1.9×10¹² M_☉ for the Milky Way. Thus M31 may be less massive than our own galaxy, although the error range is still too large to say for certain. Even so, the masses of the Milky Way and M31 are comparable, and M31's spheroid actually has a higher stellar density than that of the Milky Way.^[39]

Luminosity

M31 appears to have significantly more common stars than the Milky Way, and the estimated luminosity of M31, ~2.6×10¹⁰ L_☉, is about 25% higher than that of our own galaxy.^[40] However, the galaxy has a high inclination as seen from Earth and its interstellar dust absorbs an unknown amount of light, so it is difficult to estimate its actual brightness and other authors have given other values for the luminosity of the Andromeda Galaxy (including to propose it is the second brightest galaxy within a radius of 10 megaparsecs of the Milky Way, after the Sombrero Galaxy^[41]) , the most recent estimation (done in 2010 with the help of Spitzer Space Telescope) suggesting an absolute magnitude (in the blue) of −20.89 (that with a color index of +0.63 translates to an absolute visual magnitude of −21.52,^[b] compared to −20.9 for the Milky Way), and a total luminosity in that wavelength of 3.64×10¹⁰L_☉^[42]

The rate of star formation in the Milky Way is much higher, with M31 producing only about one solar mass per year compared to 3–5 solar masses for the Milky Way. The rate of supernovae in the Milky Way is also double that of M31.^[43] This suggests that M31 once experienced a great star formation phase, but is now in a relative state of quiescence, whereas the Milky Way is experiencing more active star formation.^[40] Should this continue, the luminosity in the Milky Way may eventually overtake that of M31.

According to recent studies, like the Milky Way, the Andromeda Galaxy lies in what in the galaxy color–magnitude diagram is known as the green valley, a region populated by galaxies in transition from the blue cloud (galaxies actively forming new stars) to the red sequence (galaxies that lack star formation). Star formation activity in green valley galaxies is slowing as they run out of star-forming gas in the interstellar medium. In simulated galaxies with similar properties, star formation will typically have been extinguished within about five billion years from now, even accounting for the expected, short-term increase in the rate of star formation due to the collision between both Andromeda and the Milky Way.^[44]

Structure

The Andromeda Galaxy seen in infrared by the Spitzer Space Telescope, one of NASA's four Great Space Observatories

Image of the Andromeda Galaxy taken by Spitzer in infrared, 24 micrometres (Credit:NASA/JPL–Caltech/K. Gordon, University of Arizona)

Play media

A Swift Tour of Andromeda Galaxy

A Galaxy Evolution Explorer image of the Andromeda Galaxy. The bands of blue-white making up the galaxy's striking rings are neighborhoods that harbor hot, young, massive stars. Dark blue-grey lanes of cooler dust show up starkly against these bright rings, tracing the regions where star formation is currently taking place in dense cloudy cocoons. When observed in visible light, Andromeda’s rings look more like spiral arms. The ultraviolet view shows that these arms more closely resemble the ring-like structure previously observed in infrared wavelengths with NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope. Astronomers using Spitzer interpreted these rings as evidence that the galaxy was involved in a direct collision with its neighbor, M32, more than 200 million years ago.

Based on its appearance in visible light, the Andromeda Galaxy is classified as an SA(s)b galaxy in the de Vaucouleurs–Sandage extended classification system of spiral galaxies.^[1] However, data from the 2MASS survey showed that the bulge of M31 has a box-like appearance, which implies that the galaxy is actually a barred spiral galaxy like the Milky Way, with the Andromeda Galaxy's bar viewed almost directly along its long axis.^[45]

In 2005, astronomers used the Keck telescopes to show that the tenuous sprinkle of stars extending outward from the galaxy is actually part of the main disk itself.^[46] This means that the spiral disk of stars in M31 is three times larger in diameter than previously estimated. This constitutes evidence that there is a vast, extended stellar disk that makes the galaxy more than 220,000 light-years (67,000 pc) in diameter. Previously, estimates of the Andromeda Galaxy's size ranged from 70,000 to 120,000 light-years (21,000 to 37,000 pc) across.

The galaxy is inclined an estimated 77° relative to the Earth (where an angle of 90° would be viewed directly from the side). Analysis of the cross-sectional shape of the galaxy appears to demonstrate a pronounced, S-shaped warp, rather than just a flat disk.^[47] A possible cause of such a warp could be gravitational interaction with the satellite galaxies near M31. The galaxy M33 could be responsible for some warp in M31's arms, though more precise distances and radial velocities are required.

Spectroscopic studies have provided detailed measurements of the rotational velocity of M31 at various radii from the core. In the vicinity of the core, the rotational velocity climbs to a peak of 225 kilometres per second (140 mi/s) at a radius of 1,300 light-years (82,000,000 AU), then descends to a minimum at 7,000 light-years (440,000,000 AU) where the rotation velocity may be as low as 50 kilometres per second (31 mi/s). Thereafter the velocity steadily climbs again out to a radius of 33,000 light-years (2.1×10⁹ AU), where it reaches a peak of 250 kilometres per second (160 mi/s). The velocities slowly decline beyond that distance, dropping to around 200 kilometres per second (120 mi/s) at 80,000 light-years (5.1×10⁹ AU). These velocity measurements imply a concentrated mass of about 6×10⁹ M_☉ in the nucleus. The total mass of the galaxy increases linearly out to 45,000 light-years (2.8×10⁹ AU), then more slowly beyond that radius.^[48]

The spiral arms of M31 are outlined by a series of H II regions that Baade described as resembling "beads on a string". They appear to be tightly wound, although they are more widely spaced than in our galaxy.^[49] Since the Andromeda Galaxy is seen close to edge-on, however, the studies of its spiral structure are difficult. While rectified images of the galaxy seem to show a fairly normal spiral galaxy with the arms wound up in a clockwise direction, exhibiting two continuous trailing arms that are separated from each other by a minimum of about 13,000 light-years (820,000,000 AU) and that can be followed outward from a distance of roughly 1,600 light-years (100,000,000 AU) from the core, other alternative spiral structures have been proposed such as a single spiral arm^[50] or a flocculent^[51] pattern of long, filamentary, and thick spiral arms.^[1][52]

The most likely cause of the distortions of the spiral pattern is thought to be interaction with galaxy satellites M32 and M110.^[53] This can be seen by the displacement of the neutral hydrogen clouds from the stars.^[54]

In 1998, images from the European Space Agency's Infrared Space Observatory demonstrated that the overall form of the Andromeda Galaxy may be transitioning into a ring galaxy. The gas and dust within M31 is generally formed into several overlapping rings, with a particularly prominent ring formed at a radius of 32,000 light-years (2.0×10⁹ AU) from the core.^[55] This ring is hidden from visible light images of the galaxy because it is composed primarily of cold dust.

Later studies with the help of the Spitzer Space Telescope showed how Andromeda's spiral structure in the infrared appears to be composed of two spiral arms that emerge from a central bar and continue beyond the large ring mentioned above. Those arms, however, are not continuous and have a segmented structure.^[53]

Close examination of the inner region of M31 with the same telescope also showed a smaller dust ring that is believed to have been caused by the interaction with M32 more than 200 million years ago. Simulations show that the smaller galaxy passed through the disk of the galaxy in Andromeda along the latter's polar axis. This collision stripped more than half the mass from the smaller M32 and created the ring structures in M31.^[56] It is the co-existence of the long-known large ring-like feature in the gas of Messier 31, together with this newly discovered inner ring-like structure, offset from the barycenter, that suggested a nearly head-on collision with the satellite M32, a milder version of the
Cartwheel encounter.^[57]

Studies of the extended halo of M31 show that it is roughly comparable to that of the Milky Way, with stars in the halo being generally "metal-poor", and increasingly so with greater distance.^[39] This evidence indicates that the two galaxies have followed similar evolutionary paths. They are likely to have accreted and assimilated about 100–200 low-mass galaxies during the past 12 billion years.^[58] The stars in the extended halos of M31 and the Milky Way may extend nearly one-third the distance separating the two galaxies.

Nucleus

HST image of the Andromeda Galaxy core showing possible double structure. NASA/ESA photo

M31 is known to harbor a dense and compact star cluster at its very center. In a large telescope it creates a visual impression of a star embedded in the more diffuse surrounding bulge. The luminosity of the nucleus is in excess of the most luminous globular clusters.^{[citation needed]}

Chandra X-ray telescope image of the center of M31. A number of X-ray sources, likely X-ray binary stars, within Andromeda's central region appear as yellowish dots. The blue source at the center is at the position of the supermassive black hole.

In 1991 Tod R. Lauer used WFPC, then on board the Hubble Space Telescope, to image M31's inner nucleus. The nucleus consists of two concentrations separated by 1.5 parsecs (4.9 ly). The brighter concentration, designated as P1, is offset from the center of the galaxy. The dimmer concentration, P2, falls at the true center of the galaxy and contains a black hole measured at 3–5 × 10⁷ M_☉ in 1993,^[59] and at 1.1–2.3 × 10⁸ M_☉ in 2005.^[60] The velocity dispersion of material around it is measured to be ≈ 160 km/s.^[61]

Scott Tremaine has proposed that the observed double nucleus could be explained if P1 is the projection of a disk of stars in an eccentric orbit around the central black hole.^[62] The eccentricity is such that stars linger at the orbital apocenter, creating a concentration of stars. P2 also contains a compact disk of hot, spectral class A stars. The A stars are not evident in redder filters, but in blue and ultraviolet light they dominate the nucleus, causing P2 to appear more prominent than P1.^[63]
While at the initial time of its discovery it was hypothesized that the brighter portion of the double nucleus was the remnant of a small galaxy "cannibalized" by M31,^[64] this is no longer considered a viable explanation, largely because such a nucleus would have an exceedingly short lifetime due to tidal disruption by the central black hole. While this could be partially resolved if P1 had its own black hole to stabilize it, the distribution of stars in P1 does not suggest that there is a black hole at its center.^[62]

Discrete sources

Artist's concept of the Andromeda Galaxy core showing a view across a disk of young, blue stars encircling a supermassive black hole. NASA/ESA photo

Apparently, by late 1968, no X-rays had been detected from the Andromeda Galaxy.^[65] A balloon flight on October 20, 1970, set an upper limit for detectable hard X-rays from M31.^[66]
Multiple X-ray sources have since been detected in the Andromeda Galaxy, using observations from the ESA's XMM-Newton orbiting observatory. Robin Barnard et al. hypothesized that these are candidate black holes or neutron stars, which are heating incoming gas to millions of kelvins and emitting X-rays. The spectrum of the neutron stars is the same as the hypothesized black holes, but can be distinguished by their masses.^[67]

There are approximately 460 globular clusters associated with the Andromeda Galaxy.^[68] The most massive of these clusters, identified as Mayall II, nicknamed Globular One, has a greater luminosity than any other known globular cluster in the Local Group of galaxies.^[69] It contains several million stars, and is about twice as luminous as Omega Centauri, the brightest known globular cluster in the Milky Way. Globular One (or G1) has several stellar populations and a structure too massive for an ordinary globular. As a result, some consider G1 to be the remnant core of a dwarf galaxy that was consumed by M31 in the distant past.^[70] The globular with the greatest apparent brightness is G76 which is located in the south-west arm's eastern half.^[17] Another massive globular cluster -named 037-B327-, discovered in 2006 as is heavily reddened by the Andromeda Galaxy's interstellar dust, was thought to be more massive than G1 and the largest cluster of the Local Group;^[71] however other studies have shown is actually similar in properties to G1.^[72]

Unlike the globular clusters of the Milky Way, which show a relatively low age dispersion, Andromeda's globular clusters have a much larger range of ages: from systems as old as the galaxy itself to much younger systems, with ages between a few hundred million years to five billion years^[73]
In 2005, astronomers discovered a completely new type of star cluster in M31. The new-found clusters contain hundreds of thousands of stars, a similar number of stars that can be found in globular clusters. What distinguishes them from the globular clusters is that they are much larger — several hundred light-years across — and hundreds of times less dense. The distances between the stars are, therefore, much greater within the newly discovered extended clusters.^[74]
In the year 2012, a microquasar, a radio burst emanating from a smaller black hole, was detected in the Andromeda Galaxy. The progenitor black hole was located near the galactic center and had about 10 . Discovered through a data collected by the ESA's XMM-Newton probe, and subsequently observed by NASA's Swift and Chandra, the Very Large Array, and the Very Long Baseline Array, the microquasar was the first observed within the Andromeda Galaxy and the first outside of the Milky Way Galaxy.^[75]

Satellites

Like the Milky Way, the Andromeda Galaxy has satellite galaxies, consisting of 14 known dwarf galaxies. The best known and most readily observed satellite galaxies are M32 and M110. Based on current evidence, it appears that M32 underwent a close encounter with M31 (Andromeda) in the past. M32 may once have been a larger galaxy that had its stellar disk removed by M31, and underwent a sharp increase of star formation in the core region, which lasted until the relatively recent past.^[76]

M110 also appears to be interacting with M31, and astronomers have found in the halo of M31 a stream of metal-rich stars that appear to have been stripped from these satellite galaxies.^[77] M110 does contain a dusty lane, which may indicate recent or ongoing star formation.^[78]
In 2006 it was discovered that nine of these galaxies lie along a plane that intersects the core of the Andromeda Galaxy, rather than being randomly arranged as would be expected from independent interactions. This may indicate a common tidal origin for the satellites.^[79]

Future collision with the Milky Way

The Andromeda Galaxy is approaching the Milky Way at about 110 kilometres per second (68 mi/s).^[80] We measure it approaching relative to our sun at around 300 kilometres per second (190 mi/s)^[1] as the sun orbits around the center of our galaxy at a speed of approximately 225 kilometres per second (140 mi/s). This makes Andromeda one of the few blueshifted galaxies that we observe. Andromeda's tangential or side-ways velocity with respect to the Milky Way is relatively much smaller than the approaching velocity and therefore we expect it to directly collide with the Milky Way in about 4 billion years. A likely outcome of the collision is that the galaxies will merge to form a giant elliptical galaxy.^[81] Such events are frequent among the galaxies in galaxy groups. The fate of the Earth and the Solar System in the event of a collision is currently unknown. Before the galaxies merge, there is a small chance that the Solar System could be ejected from the Milky Way or join M31.^[82]

Renewables Spurred by Natural Gas Development?

Posted on August 3, 2014 by Natural Gas Now Guest Blogger

Original Link:  http://naturalgasnow.org/renewables-spurred-natural-gas-development/#more-5168

Nick GrealyAdministrator of NaturalGas2.0, NoHotAir and ShaleGasInfo Blogs

 

Renewables are part of the energy revolution in the US made possible by shale gas but you wouldn’t know it given some of the sector’s stupid friends.

Two reasonable sounding arguments against shale gas here in the UK/EU are a fear that cheaper natural gas makes investments in efficiency and renewables uncompetitive. That was the argument proposed by both Craig Bennett of Friends of the Earth and Tom Burke of E3G on Sky News and BBC News Channel on July 28 during the few minutes we were allowed together.

Is it a reasonable argument? As usual, the US provides some answers. European Greens like Craig and Tom don’t quite get that the US energy transformation (energiewende) is not only about gas. It’s about several systemic disruptions across energy. The shale revolution isn’t the only game in town anymore and disruptions are breaking out in efficiency, wind and solar.

Shale Gas, Renewables and Efficiency – The Triple Revolution 

It sounds perfectly reasonable to people to say that surely we can just be more efficient. The answer is two yesses. Yes, we can, but also, yes, we already are. A core assumption is that modern life is inevitably energy intense, but here’s an interesting fact via BP World Energy Statistics. Convert energy use from all sources (oil, gas, coal, nuclear and renewable) to Trillion Barrels of Oil Equivalent (TBOE) and peak energy was 228.2 in 2005, compared to 223.9 in 2000. The figure of 200 TBOE in 2013 shows an encouraging drop both this century and from the pre-recession peak of 2005.

But, most interesting of all, is how the UK uses roughly the same amount of energy today than we did in 1968 when there were 8.5 million less of us watching one 19 inch black and white television in an unheated home, and walking to work for far lower average disposable income.

Trillions of Barrels of Oil Equivalent Used in UK

In short, as in most things, life is getting better by almost any measurement, but we’re far more energy efficient than most people lead themselves to believe. In the USA, the TBOE figure of 2265 is 75% more ,but population rose 63% since 1965, and there was a substantial migration to the sunbelt brought on by the development of wide scale air conditioning. In short, the richer we become, the more energy efficient we systemically become.
Returning to 2014, we see that US shale is a revolution that peacefully co-exists with a revolution in lower energy use and higher renewable penetration. From the Wall Street Journal, no sign that cheaper shale gas in generation is an enemy of either efficiency or renewables:

When customers of American Electric Power Co.started dialing back on power consumption in early 2009, company executives figured consumers and businesses were just pinching pennies because of the recession.
Five years and an economic recovery later, electricity sales at the Columbus, Ohio-based power company still haven’t rebounded to the peak reached in 2008. As a result, executives have had to abandon their century-old assumption that the use of electricity tracks overall economic conditions.
“It’s a new world for us,” says Chief Executive Nick Akins.

Homes and industry are cutting energy use organically as almost everything we buy is far more efficient than the product it supersedes. Something as mundane as lighting is a good example but computers are another. The big success is in auto fuel economy which cuts carbon emissions as this from the US EPA shows:


Green World Still in Dark Eyeshades

But it’s the same old world that UK greens, and their nimby allies who see all change as negative appear to live in, even when utilities problems stem from renewables success. I’ve noted before, and mentioned to Tom Burke at the BBC, how Texas shows wind and hydrocarbons get along just fine in Texas. In the UK, the song is things can only get better, but in Texas, they are:

..turning wind into electricity is one thing; moving the energy to a profitable market is another. For years, the wind industry has been hampered by such a severe lack of transmission lines that when the wind is strong, a local power surplus forces some machines to be shut down.

Now, Texas is out to change that by conducting a vast experiment that might hold lessons for the rest of the United States. This year, a sprawling network of new high-voltage power lines was completed, tying the panhandle area and West Texas to the millions of customers around Dallas-Fort Worth, Austin and Houston.
The project, its supporters say, is essential if states are ever to wean their reliance on fossil fuels and meet new federally mandated rules to reduce carbon emissions.

This is completely counter to UK (and US) green narratives: The world hydrocarbon capital providing more gas, more wind, more efficiency and lower CO2. Quite a switch from the Energiewende example. A better question may be to ask why aren’t EU efficiency and renewable targets achieving the same success as in the US?

Texas Natural Gas and Renewables Electricity Generation Both Huge

Could it be that cheaper natural gas incentivizes green technology not to stagnate or disappear, but to flourish? Could it be that the integration of renewables into the electricity network is not hindered, but actually accelerated by low cost natural gas?

Incentives to replace CO2 clearly aren’t working in Germany and the UK:

Germany and the United Kingdom have 18 of the 30 most polluting energy plants in the European Union, according to a study by green NGOs, funded by the European Union.

But returning again to the US both solar and gas are flourishing, albeit at US subsides far lower than UK ones.

The United States put online 102 utility-scale solar PV and concentrating solar power plants with a total capacity of 1.13 GW in the first six months of 2014, according to the latest Energy Infrastructure Updatefrom the nation’s Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). 

This represents a 5% decline from the first half of 2013, but is still 32% of new generation put online during the period. In June 11 utility-scale PV plants totalling 40 MW were commissioned, with First Wind’s 14 MW Warren PV plant in Massachusetts as the largest completed during the month. 

FERC’s monthly reports do not include “behind-the-meter” residential and commercial solar, and if these were added solar would make up closer to half of new generation during the first half of 2014.

Natural gas continues to be the leading form of new electricity generation in the United States, and another 1.55 GW of gas plants were added in the first six months of 2014, making up 44% of recorded capacity.

Most importantly Monday, in what may be a  Khruschev speech moment for UK greens, The Guardian offered them some uncomfortable reading.

The very word sounds designed to shock, and it really can make the earth move. But there are serious reasons why fracking is likely to be part of Britain’s future. The caprice of global markets, which Vladimir Putin does much to emphasise, puts a premium on sourcing some energy at home…and if the UK is to curb emissions, then – on top of scaled-up renewables and reduced waste – we’ll need cleaner hydrocarbons to burn.

The comments, and Tony Bosworth’s letter in response, show reality is slow in coming. But once it does, there’ll be more and more of it.

…green groups must be thankful to have a popular countryside crusade they can embrace – opposition to the nascent fracking industry, which the government kickstarted this week by announcing that most of the country is open for prospecting for shale gas. But it is not obvious that they are winning the race yet or even that they have backed the right horse.

Editor’s Note: Nick’s piece is on the right track. Subsidies to the renewables industry put a relative handful of government officials in charge of picking winners and losers, rather than consumers making free choices. They inevitably distort markets, while making any industry dependent upon them lethargic and less likely to innovate. Renewables are doing better here in the US than in the EU precisely because we do less force-feeding of them. Natural gas is the natural ally of renewables development and, as Texas goes, so goes the nation. Unfortunately, some renewables advocates have been drawn into an “us vs. them” ideological war that ignores this reality. That’s the sort of thing stupid friends do and stupid friends are always a lot more dangerous than your enemies.