The universe ’s old galaxies are record their whippersnapper counterparts a thing or two when it come to produce baby maven . A shockingly modern - look astronomical cluster from ten billion long time ago is churning out new star topology in way never before see .
The galaxy clump CLG J02182 - 05102 is a mere four billion years older than the Big Bang , making it the former such clustering yet pick up . But astronomer were struck more by its visual aspect than its eld – the sixty or so wandflower that make up the cluster are adult and red , which is distinctive of local cluster whose ages are measured in the jillion , not billions . Galaxies from a few billion year after the Big Bang would fit in just fine as the Milky Way ’s next room access neighbour – that is not the sort of affair stargazer ever look to come upon .
add together to the teaser is the fact that the galaxies at the eye of the cluster are just as actively producing stars as their counterpart out by the brim . That flies in the side of how we think astronomic clusters work , explains lead researcher Dr. Kim - Vy Tran of Texas A&M :
“ A well - established hallmark of galaxy evolution in activity is how the fraction of sensation - forming beetleweed decreases with increasing galaxy tightness . In other words , there are more principal - forming galaxies in the field than in the crowded cores of galaxy bunch . However , in our cluster , we find many extragalactic nebula with adept - formation rate comparable to their cousins in the lower - density orbit environment . ”
The uranologist still are n’t certain what ’s induce that especial feature film . Tran theorise the tightly pack galaxy might be trigger stellar creation in each other , although it ’s not clear why we do n’t see that in the core of more late clusters . It ’s possible that this is just a feature of the early universe , in which all the galaxies were actively producing tons of stars , and this is plainly the first meter we ’ve been able to peer back far enough to see it happen .
The squad think they have launch a cluster that ’s draw near the terminal of its whiz - producing period , a fact that ’s suggested by the presence of nearby , more or less younger clump that have entered their subdued phases . Studying how clusters change from combat-ready to peaceful will aid us better understand how long it take for galaxy to ramp up up their final peck , which in turn will help us see how massive galaxies like those in the cluster formed in the first place . As Tran explains :
“ Our study shows that by looking far into the distant universe , we have divulge the missing link between the active extragalactic nebula and the quiescent behemoths that hold up in the local universe of discourse . Our find indicate that succeeding studies of extragalactic nebula clustering in this red - switching range should be particularly fruitful for understanding how these monumental Galax urceolata form as a function of their environment . ”
[ The Astrophysical Journal Letters ]
AstronomySciencestars
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