To the extent that we can see them, galaxies in the very early universe should look relatively young and unformed. But galaxy ALESS 073.1 is a surprise to astronomers: it looks more mature than we’d have any reason to expect. Why? Source: https://earthsky.org/space/galaxy-looks-older-than-its-years-aless-073-1…
Tag: galaxy formation
C1-23152: An ancient galaxy that built itself
A popular theory of galaxy formation suggests that small galaxies merged to form larger ones. But galaxy C1-23152 – 12 billion light-years from Earth – apparently formed itself from gas in the early universe, via exceedingly rapid star formation. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/c1-23152-galaxy-built-itself-not-via-galaxy-merger…
New Milky Way family tree reveals a chaotic history
Scientists in Germany have created a new family tree of our Milky Way galaxy, showing how it has grown over billions of years from chaotic mergers with smaller galaxies. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/milky-way-family-tree-progenitor-galaxy-collisions-kraken…
The case of the missing dark matter: new suspect found in galactic mystery
A faraway galaxy with almost no dark matter has threatened to break our theory of galaxy formation. New evidence suggests the galaxy isn’t an anomaly—but a victim of theft. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-11-case-dark-galactic-mystery.html…
Understanding the ‘dark’ universe and primordial galaxy formation
Visible matter constitutes only 16% of the universe’s total mass. Little is known about the nature of the rest of that mass, which referred to as dark matter. Even more surprising is the fact that the universe’s total mass accounts for only 30% of its energy. The rest is dark energy, which is totally unknown but is responsible for the universe’s…
Astronomers release a black hole family portrait
“Black hole family portrait” is a fancy way of saying “new catalog.” But it’s a very important and exciting catalog, released October 28, 2020 by gravitational wave astronomers, containing 39 new signals from black hole or neutron star collisions. Source: https://earthsky.org/todays-image/ligo-virgo-new-catalog-gwtc-2-black-hole-family-portrait…
Metal-poor globular cluster forces astronomers to rethink theories
The discovery of the most metal-poor globular cluster recorded to date has forced scientists to rethink how both galaxies and globular clusters form. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/metal-poor-globular-cluster-ext8-found-in-andromeda-galaxy…
Researchers depict the formation of galaxies
An international team of astronomers, with researchers at Leiden Observatory playing a leading role, has mapped the fuel for galaxy formation in the iconic Hubble Ultra Deep Field. The results of the research have been accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal. Source: https://phys.org/news/2020-09-depict-formation-galaxies.html…
Astronomers spy a Milky Way look-alike 12 billion light-years away
This distant galaxy – SPT0418-47 – surprised astronomers by being organized enough to have a spinning disk and a galactic bulge, early in the history of our universe. Source: https://earthsky.org/space/alma-distant-milky-way-lookalike-galaxy-spt0418-47…
Massive disk galaxy could change our understanding of how galaxies are born
A massive, rotating disk galaxy that first formed just 1.5 billion years after the Big Bang, could upend our understanding of galaxy formation, scientists suggest in a new study. Source: https://www.livescience.com/wolfe-disk-massive-galaxy-discovery.html