The Boss Is In Town. Let Him Use the Giant Telescope!

Here's a lovely new picture of a spiral galaxy somewhat similar to our own Milky Way today, from the (big breath) European Organization for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere's (ESO) Very Large Telescope.

Like the Milky Way, the spiral disc is slightly warped. The reason for this is unclear – it may have had a close encounter with another galaxy, or perhaps another galaxy is still exerting some gravitational pull on it, researchers said.

But this NGC 134 has already proved important for other reasons, too. The ESO's publication of the picture is headlined by the news that the lead observer was no other than European Commissioner for Science and Research Janez Poto?nik. That's right, the boss was in town, and his photos are fabulous!

Here's Poto?nik writing on his own blog afterwards:

I myself was able to identify and name my very own galaxy!
And who knows when, with today’s top scientists and infrastructures, we will be able to discover whether we are alone in the Universe or whether my galaxy holds secrets yet unknown…

I joke only gently. It's good that bureaucrats and politicians get their hands dirty, so to speak, and see specifically what they're funding and why. Kudos to Poto?nik, an accomplished economist, for making the trip to Chile, and taking the time to understand the process of discovery.

A Galaxy for Science and Research [ESO]

(Image: Twisted Spiral Galaxy NGC 134 . Credit: ESO)