哈勃望远镜捕捉星系内部“混沌秘密”:引力扰动下的宇宙奇观

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美国航空航天局(NASA)近日发布了一张由哈勃太空望远镜拍摄的新影像,标题定为"Hubble Spots Chaotic Secret in Galaxy"——望远镜在看似平静的星系内部,捕捉到了一场隐藏已久的“混沌秘密”。这类发现再度提醒人们,宇宙中那些在照片里显得优雅安详的星系,其内部往往正在上演剧烈的引力博弈与恒星形成风暴。对于地面观测设备而言,这些细节常常被大气扰动所遮蔽,而在距地表约 540 千米的轨道上,哈勃凭借其稳定的光学系统得以将它们一一揭开。

星系“混沌”从何而来

天文学语境中的“混沌”,通常指向几类现象:星系核心区域的活动星系核(AGN)、由星系碰撞或引力潮汐触发的爆发式恒星形成,以及扭曲的尘埃带与不规则的结构形态。当一个体积较小的伴星系近距离掠过,甚至直接撞入大星系时,引力扰动会压缩星际气体云,触发规模惊人的恒星诞生潮;与此同时,原有的旋臂结构被拉扯变形,形成拖尾与星桥。哈勃的高分辨率影像正是研究这类相互作用的核心工具——它能够分辨出星系内部单颗的造父变星和球状星团,为判定距离和演化阶段提供直接证据。

从已积累的大量观测案例看,星系并合并非宇宙中的罕见事件,而是星系演化的常态路径。银河系与仙女座星系预计将在数十亿年后发生类似的过程,届时两个星系的旋臂结构都将被彻底重塑。哈勃此番捕捉到的“混沌秘密”,为理解这一长远图景提供了一个近距离的样本。

【关键数据】

- 哈勃在轨时间: 1990 年 4 月发射,累计服役已超过 36 年

- 主镜口径: 2.4 米

- 轨道高度: 约 540 千米,属于近地轨道,受稀薄大气阻力影响轨道缓慢衰减

- 观测波段: 紫外至近红外(约 0.11–1.7 微米),覆盖地面设备难以触及的紫外波段

老将不老:哈勃的科学余晖

在韦伯太空望远镜(JWST)于 2021 年底升空并投入运行后,外界一度认为哈勃的历史使命行将结束。实际情况恰恰相反:韦伯工作于红外波段,而哈勃在紫外和可见光波段的观测能力至今无可替代。两者形成互补组合——韦伯穿透尘埃观察深空与早期宇宙,哈勃则以高分辨率解析近距星系的精细结构。此次发布的星系影像正是这种分工价值的体现:紫外波段的数据能够定位年轻大质量恒星的分布,直接勾勒出恒星形成活动的“现场”。

需要关注的是,哈勃近年来多次出现陀螺仪与仪器异常,NASA 已不再安排航天飞机维修任务,其退役时间表逐步进入讨论范围。轨道高度的自然衰减也意味着,若不加干预,望远镜最终将在大气层中再入烧毁。在剩余的服役窗口内,每一批高价值观测数据都显得尤为珍贵。

观测价值:星系演化的活体样本

从长期看,此类“混沌星系”观测的意义不仅在于产出一张精美图片。通过对扰动结构的形态学分析,天文学家能够反推星系相互作用的动力学历史,进而校准星系演化模型的参数。这类模型与暗物质晕的分布研究、黑洞成长理论密切相关——星系并合被认为是超大质量黑洞快速吸积、乃至类星体点火的主要机制之一。哈勃提供的精细结构数据,正是这些理论得以验证的基础材料。

对于公众而言,这张影像的传播价值同样不容低估。哈勃三十年余年来持续输出的深空影像,一代代地吸引年轻人走进天文与工程领域,这种科学传播的外溢效应,或许正是这台老牌望远镜留给人类最深远的资产之一。在它与韦伯并肩工作的剩余岁月里,宇宙深处的更多“混沌秘密”仍将被逐一揭开。


出处:Hubble Spots Chaotic Secret in Galaxy

英文原文
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ago](https://www.nasa.gov/es/la-nasa-anuncia-la-cobertura-de-la-mision-lunar-artemis-ii/)[ 15 min read ### Agenda diaria de la misión a la Luna de Artemis II de la NASA article 7 months ago](https://www.nasa.gov/es/agenda-diaria-de-la-mision-a-la-luna-de-artemis-ii-de-la-nasa/)[ 6 min read ### La NASA refuerza Artemis: a?ade una misión y perfecciona su arquitectura general article 7 months ago](https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/astronauts/la-nasa-refuerza-artemis-anade-una-mision-y-perfecciona-su-arquitectura-general/) 1 min read # Hubble Spots Chaotic Secret in Galaxy HQ Web Team Sep 25, 2026 Image Article * [](https://x.com/intent/tweet?via=NASA&text=Hubble%20Spots%20Chaotic%20Secret%20in%20Galaxy&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nasa.gov%2Fimage-article%2Fhubble-spots-chaotic-secret-in-galaxy%2F) * [](https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nasa.gov%2Fimage-article%2Fhubble-spots-chaotic-secret-in-galaxy%2F) * [](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nasa.gov%2Fimage-article%2Fhubble-spots-chaotic-secret-in-galaxy%2F) * [](https://www.nasa.gov/feed/) [](https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/55534741297-34e5a9d414-o.jpg) ESA/Hubble & NASA, D. Thilker, the MAUVE-HST Team A chaotic secret hides within this seemingly serene image of spiral galaxy NGC 4698 taken by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope and released on Sept. 18, 2026. As a spiral galaxy like our own Milky Way galaxy, NGC 4698 has spiral arms that curl around within a thin disk of stars, gas, and dust. These arms are marked by opaque clumps of brown dust and dotted with small collections of bright blue stars. Unlike many other spiral galaxies, NGC 4698’s delicate spiral arms are only prominent in the outer reaches of the disk; spiral arms often wind down to the very center of a galaxy, but NGC 4698’s spiral arms appear to shy away from its glowing center. The arms instead hover in a ring-like structure around the perimeter of the galaxy. [Read more about this unusual spiral galaxy.](https://science.nasa.gov/uncategorized/nasas-hubble-spots-an-out-of-sync-galaxy/) _Text credit: ESA/Hubble_ _Image credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, D. Thilker, the MAUVE-HST Team_ ### National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA explores the unknown in air and space, innovates for the benefit of humanity, and inspires the world through discovery. * [About NASA's Mission](https://www.nasa.gov/about/) [Join Us](https://www.nasa.gov/get-involved/) * [Home](https://www.nasa.gov/) * [News & Events](https://www.nasa.gov/news/) * [Multimedia](https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/) * [NASA+](https://plus.nasa.gov/) * [Missions](https://www.nasa.gov/nasa-missions/) * [Humans in Space](https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/) * [Earth](https://science.nasa.gov/earth/) * [The Solar System](https://science.nasa.gov/solar-system/) * [The Universe](https://science.nasa.gov/universe/) * [Science](https://science.nasa.gov/) * [Aeronautics](https://www.nasa.gov/aeronautics/) * [Technology](https://www.nasa.gov/technology/) * [Learning Resources](https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/) * [About NASA](https://www.nasa.gov/about/) * [NASA en Espa?ol (opens in new tab)](https://www.nasa.gov/es/) ### Follow NASA * [](https://www.facebook.com/NASA) * [](https://www.instagram.com/nasa/) * [](https://x.com/NASA) * [](https://www.youtube.com/@NASA) * [More NASA Social Accounts](https://www.nasa.gov/social-media/) * [NASA Newsletters](https://www.nasa.gov/nasa-newsletters/) * [Sitemap](https://www.nasa.gov/sitemap/) * [For Media](https://www.nasa.gov/news/nasa-media-contacts/) * [Privacy Policy](https://www.nasa.gov/nasa-web-privacy-policy-and-important-notices/) * [FOIA](https://www.nasa.gov/foia/) * [No FEAR Act](https://www.nasa.gov/no-fear-act/) * [Office of the IG (opens in new tab)](http://oig.nasa.gov/) * [Budget & Annual Reports](https://www.nasa.gov/budgets-plans-and-reports/) * [Agency Financial Reports](https://www.nasa.gov/organizations/budget-annual-reports/agency-financial-reports/) * [Contact NASA](https://www.nasa.gov/contact-nasa/) * [Accessibility](https://www.nasa.gov/accessibility/) * Page Last Updated: Sep 25, 2026 * Page Editor: HQ Web Team * Responsible NASA Official: Abigail Bowman ## Was this page helpful? 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