Megamasers 100 million times brighter than Milky Way <br /> <br />Megamasers are intensely bright, around 100 million times brighter than the masers found in galaxies like the Milky Way. <br /> <br />The entire galaxy essentially acts as an astronomical laser that beams out microwave emission rather than visible light (hence the ‘m’ replacing the ‘l’). <br /> <br />This megamaser is named IRAS 16399-0937, and is located over 370 million light-years from Earth. This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image belies the galaxy’s energetic nature, instead painting it as a beautiful and serene cosmic rosebud. <br /> <br />The image comprises observations captured across various wavelengths by two of Hubble’s instruments: the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), and the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS). <br /> <br />Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA. Acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt (geckzilla. https://www.flickr.com/photos/geckzilla ) <br /> <br />http://www.spacetelescope.org/images/potw1652a <br /> <br />.
