Hubble showed a photo of two "dancing" galaxies
Miscellaneous / / May 27, 2022
One of them should actively generate new stars, but for some reason this does not happen.
Despite the launch of the James Webb telescope, the almost 30-year-old Hubble continues to work and send breathtaking photographs back to Earth. new image, published NASA, obtained precisely thanks to the Hubble. It shows two distant galaxies dancing to form new stars.
We are talking about the galaxies NGC 3227 and NGC 3226 (together they are called Arp 94), located 50-60 million light-years from Earth. If you look closely, in the new photo you can see the streams of gas connecting these galaxies.
On the left in the photo is NGC 3227, an irregular galaxy with an active nucleus (they are also called Seyfert). At its center is a supermassive black hole milky way. To the right is NGC 3226, an elliptical galaxy that NASA scientists believe has previously swallowed up a third galaxy in the area.
In addition to the unusual dance effect, scientists are also interested in the formation of stars in NGC 3226. The galaxy must actively create new stars, given that all the energy and debris from the third galaxy goes directly into it. But
studyWarm Gas Pours ‘Cold Water’ on Galaxy’s Star-Making / NASA 2014 showed that this is not the case.Although the two galaxies have come together in a dance, and NGC 3226 is constantly fueled by this energy, the rate of star formation in it is very low. It appears that matter falling into NGC 3226 is colliding with other galactic gas. As a result, this quenches the formation of new stars, rather than fueling it.
This is an interesting find, and one that raises more questions about star formation than it answers. NASA believes that NGC 3226 is currently aging and moving from the status of a "blue" galaxy to a "red" one. Scientists intend to continue observing to learn more about the aging of galaxies. They also believe that over time, NGC 3226 will again be able to actively form stars.
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