[image: Talos1.jpg]
*Talos:* *the Bronze Giant of Crete*
The origin of Talos, the  Bronze Giant of Crete, is uncertain.  According
to some, Hephaestus, god of fires, forges and furnaces, crafted Talos and
presented him to Cretan king Minos.   However,  others insist that Talos
was the last descendant of the Meliae, ash-tree nymphs that arose from the
blood spilled after Cronos' castration of the sky god Ouranos.  The Meliae
spawned a race of giants who lived during humankind's "bronze age," a
particularly troubled period of tumult, violence and famine.  During this
time, all the giants slew each other save Talos.    That he alone persisted
after the bronze age is little surprise, for he was the strongest member of
his race. Moreover, he was nearly invincible.    His sole vulnerability was
the one vein extending from his neck to his ankle.   Ichor, the blood of
the gods, flowed through this vein which was held fast by a single bronze
nail.  Talos served as Crete's guardian.  He circled the island three times
daily and defended against invaders.   Some said that he served King Minos,
others that he protected Europa, the beautiful lover of Zeus who resided on
Crete.      In either case, Talos was a fierce guardian kept unwanted ships
away by either embracing them in his fierce grip or smashing them with
rocks.       After Jason and the Argonauts captured the Golden Fleece -a
fantastic tale we'll later discuss in greater detail- their ship, the Argo,
tried to land on Crete.    However, the ever vigilant Talos saw the vessel
enter the harbor and tossed large boulders toward it.    Although these
immense stones missed their target, the resultant waves continually pushed
the ship away from the shore.   Medea, the sorceress and chief priestess of
Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft, magic and herbs, was aboard the Argo,for
she was desperately in love with Jason and sought to assist his
expedition.       Medea managed to attract Talos' attention with a highly
reflexive medallion.    While Talos watched, Medea spun the medallion
slowly on its axis so as to produce a blinking light. This light quickly
hypnotized the giant.   Under this spell, Talos remained stationary long
enough for the ship to approach him.   Medea then convinced Talos that if
he removed the bronze nail from his vein, the divine blood would fill his
body and render him immortal.   Talos plucked out the nail and his blood
poured out of his body like molten lead and into the sea.  The ichor, being
unearthly, formed a shimmering pool at the ocean surface and rapidly
transformed into iridescent steam that ascended through the sky while Talos
collapsed dead into the water.  Although the displacement waves nearly
capsized the Argo, it managed to right itself before sailing safely into
Crete.


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2020-2021:  XII


THE DAILY ASTRONOMER
Wednesday, September 16, 2020
Remote Planetarium 90:History and Future of the Milky Way Galaxy


[image: milky_way.jpeg]

The above image could make one regard the galaxy as a placid pinwheel
rotating lethargically around a bright, barred center.    This apparent
placidity -itself, an illusion- belies the galaxy's true nature.   It is a
dynamic, ever changing system of more than 300 billion stars that revolve
around the nucleus in rapid, undulating orbits.         It currently
measures 100,000 light years in diameter and, except for the grand spiral
Andromeda, is the largest member of the Local Group of Galaxies.

 How did it become such an immense system consisting of myriad stars?
Answering this question necessitates a trip into the far distant past, more
than 13 billion years ago.      Cosmologists believe that the cosmos began
in a single event dubbed "the Big Bang" about 13.8 billion years ago.
This event gave rise to all the space, time, matter and energy that now
comprise the Universe.   Initially, only super-hot radiant energy pervaded
the cosmos.     Approximately 380,000 years after the Big Bang, the
Universe cooled to 3000 K  (2,727 degrees C).  Atomic nuclei captured
electrons to create the first neutral atoms, principally hydrogen and
helium.     Matter and radiation separated. The radiation was released as a
powerful flash that is now detectable throughout the Universe as the *Cosmic
Microwave Background Radiation*.

The material Universe consisted of vast clouds composed of hydrogen and
helium.     Had the density of this material been perfectly uniform, the
cosmos might have remained nothing more than light element clouds.
However, regions of slightly greater density were scattered throughout the
Universe.  Around these regions matter began to accumulate.   These were
the nuclei of the first galaxies.  Material within the primordial galaxies
also developed pockets of slightly greater density.   The pockets become
more massive and thus were able to attract more material due to their
increased gravitational strength.      About 560 million years after the
Big Bang the first stars formed.    These first stars were gathered in
clusters that often merged to create larger stellar structures.        Vast
collections of gases collected around these stellar amalgamations.
 Small dwarf galaxies were well established.     These dwarfs often
collided and combined to create larger galaxies that, themselves, conjoined
to form even larger structures.

The Galaxy grew larger and formed spiral arms which contained the greatest
concentrations of stars and other materials.      These spirals radiated
away from the nucleus, a region harboring a supermassive black hole and a
wide "bar" of stars .  The black hole, likely an amalgam of smaller black
holes, is four million times as massive as the Sun.     All spiral and
elliptical galaxies are believed to have a supermassive black hole at their
centers.

[image: canisgalaxy_2mass_big.jpg]

As we will see next week when we progress to the level of galactic
clusters, the Milky Way became part of the Local Group, a system consisting
of approximately 54 galaxies.     Many of its members are dwarf galaxies
that will likely become incorporated into the larger spirals.   In fact,
the Milky Way Galaxy is currently absorbing smaller galaxies such as the
Canis Minor Dwarf, a galaxy containing about one billion stars.   The image
above shows a simulation of this absorption.   Notice that the Canis Minor
Dwarf Galaxy is being reduced to a stellar stream like many of the others
that surround the Milky Way.

[image: Andromeda_Galaxy_with_h-alpha-300x197.jpg]

The Milky Way Galaxy will continue to grow as it cannibalizes other dwarf
galaxies.  The major event, though, occurs in 4 - 6 billion years from
now.   The Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxies are scheduled to "collide" and
eventually merge to create a mega-galaxy containing nearly one trillion
stars.           The word "collision" is somewhat misleading for one should
not regard the encounter as being similar to the collision of two solid
objects.  The galaxies will approach each other, merge and then separate
before eventually slowing down and colliding again, only to separate again
prior to another collision,  Eventually, the galaxies will finally conjoin
into one system.

Refer to this Milky Way-Andromeda collision simulation on You-tube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4disyKG7XtU
(Our apologies in advance for the political attack ads that will most
assuredly precede the simulation.     A contrived collision prior to the
natural one.)

Our home galaxy will still persist for billions of years after this merger
and will likely experience other collisions, albeit not as dramatic as the
one with the Andromeda Galaxy.          Trillions of years in the future
the last stars will flicker out.   By that time, the Milky Way Galaxy will
consist of stellar remnants in orbit around the central black hole that,
itself, will persist for trillions upon trillions of years more before
eventually evaporating through the emission of Hawking radiation.

We can be well assured, however, that our beloved Milky Way will remain
part of the Universe for quite some time to come.

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