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| Spiral galaxy A1689B11 sits behind a massive cluster of galaxies that acts as a lens, producing two magnified images of the spiral galaxy in different positions in the sky. Credit: James Josephides |
The most ancient spiral
galaxy discovered to date is revealing its secrets to a team of astronomers at
Swinburne University of Technology and The Australian National University
(ANU), part of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in All Sky
Astrophysics in 3-D (ASTRO 3-D). The galaxy is known as A1689B11.
It existed 11 billion years
in the past, just 2.6 billion years after the Big Bang, when the universe was
only one fifth of its present age. It is thus the most ancient spiral galaxy
discovered so far.
The researchers used a
powerful technique that combines gravitational lensing with the cutting-edge
instrument the Near-infrared Integral Field Spectrograph (NIFS) on the Gemini
North telescope in Hawai'i to verify the vintage and spiral nature of this
galaxy. NIFS is Australia's first Gemini instrument that was designed and built
by the late Peter McGregor at The ANU.
Gravitational lenses are
nature's largest telescopes, created by massive clusters composed of thousands
of galaxies and dark
matter. The cluster bends and magnifies the light of galaxies behind it in a
manner similar to an ordinary lens, but on a much larger scale.
"This technique allows
us to study ancient galaxies in high resolution with unprecedented
detail," says Swinburne astronomer Dr Tiantian Yuan, who led the research
team. "We are able to look 11 billion years back in time and directly
witness the formation of the first, primitive spiral arms of a galaxy." Co-author, Princeton
University's Dr Renyue Cen, says: "Studying ancient spirals like A1689B11
is a key to unlocking the mystery of how and when the Hubble sequence emerges.
"Spiral galaxies are
exceptionally rare in the early universe, and this discovery opens the door to
investigating how galaxies transition from highly chaotic, turbulent discs to
tranquil, thin discs like those of our own Milky Way galaxy." Dr Yuan says the study
shows some surprising features of A1689B11.
"This galaxy is
forming stars 20 times faster than galaxies today – as fast as other young
galaxies of similar masses in the early universe. However, unlike other
galaxies of the same epoch, A1689B11 has a very cool and thin disc, rotating
calmly with surprisingly little turbulence. This type of spiral galaxy has never been seen
before at this early epoch of the universe."
More information: The most
ancient spiral galaxy: a 2.6-Gyr-old disk with a tranquil velocity field. arxiv.org/abs/1710.11130
Read more at Phys.org
When I see and study the visuals of space I am empowered with a thought that undermines the real and the imaginary. The two that are suitable for my understanding is matter and energy and I have created a logical understanding for them. To an observer in space time and space becomes an illusion when he sees the real.
ReplyDeleteThere are five fields that govern the cosmic existence. The space houses matter and energy evolving in a time variant configuration with consciousness giving it orderliness. It is customary for the scientist to make the earth as a reference. In the cosmos the earth is a speck of dust unaccountable in the existence of the cosmos. Matter and energy is evaluated with the principles of classical physics and it’s lately described in quantum physics. There is a void in science that needs another dimension to evaluate the realities of the cosmos. With the development of science the thinkers are living in two worlds, the world of fractional knowledge and the world of the real- cosmos.
Science should evaluate the cosmos in a new theory nullifying the Big Bang theory. Where the first postulate should be that there was never a beginning and so there shall be no end. You would be surprise to find the next dimension of space research.