Hubble spots megamaser

Megamasers are galaxies that act like one big laser that emits microwave radiation instead of visible light. Recently, the Hubble Space Telescope spotted IRAS 16399-0937, a megamaser 370 million light-years from Earth.

Megamasers are extremely bright, 100 million times brighter than regular masers. Galaxies become masers and megamasers when their spectral emissions take on the quality of a microwave laser -- when their emissions become stimulated, or amplified, and monochromatic.

The amplification process is caused by a glut of galactic gas in just the right physical condition to absorb and re-emit microwave radiation.

Hubble imaged IRAS 16399-0937 in two wavelengths using its Advanced Camera for Surveys and its Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer. The two observations were combined to form the image shared by NASA.

The new image offers exceptional detail and showcases the galaxy's dual core -- a pair in the process of merging. The cores are surrounded by a swirl of gas and dust, obscuring the intense energy of the two nuclei.