The gas-rich formation has likely remained unchanged for 13.8 billion years, since the Big Bang
An extraordinary discovery recently surprised scientists: a starless galaxy! The identification of the galaxy J0613+52 — which is 270 million light years from Earth — was made accidentally by Green Bank Radio Telescope (GBT)from the United States.
The discovery was presented at the 243rd meeting of American Astronomical Societylast week.
According to Karen O’Neil, chief scientist at the Green Bank Observatory, the galaxy is notable for its apparent lack of stars, appearing as a haze of gas typical of normal galaxies, but floating alone in the sky. spacethe scientist explained to the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle.
The J0613+52 galaxy has unique characteristics, such as the structural similarity to known spiral galaxies, such as the Milky Way or Andromeda, without however the presence of visible stars.
How was it discovered? This is one of the most interesting parts of this story: a typographical error in the coordinates of the Green Bank radio telescope pointed it to a previously unexplored area of space, where J0613+52 was located.
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Initially, researchers focused on studying low surface brightness (LSB) galaxies, characterized by a paucity of stars and a predominance of gas and dark matter.
The galaxy may have remained isolated throughout the universe’s 13.8 billion-year history, with no gravitational interactions altering its gaseous composition, scientists explained.
Despite its gas richness, “it doesn’t show star formation as we would expect, probably because its gas is too diffuse,” O’Nei told Deutsche Welle.
Furthermore, the distance from other galaxies suggests that there were no encounters capable of triggering star formation.
These characteristics make J0613+52 unique, probably the first nearby galaxy composed mainly of primordial gases – hydrogen and helium, formed following the Big Bang – without heavy elements or metals.
Source: Terra
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