A team of scientists obtained a magnificent photograph of a faraway galaxy, reminding us all how little we are in the grand scheme of things.
This monster galaxy' is around 12 billion light-years away from Earth and produces new stars 1,000 times faster than our own Milky Way galaxy.
Scientists utilized the £1.1 billion ALMA Observatory in Chile to capture views of the galaxy with a resolution ten times better than any previous attempt, naming it 'COSMOS-AzTEC-1.'
The measurements revealed previously unknown information on the structure of this starburst galaxy, which is thought to have originated in the first billion years following the big bang.
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We found that there are two distinct large clouds several thousand light-years away from the centre,’ said Ken-ichi Tadaki, of the National Astronomical Observatory in Tokyo, Japan which worked with the University of Massachusetts Amherst to make the observations.
That's a significant achievement.
The Milky Way is composed of a single, dense center with spiral arms extending outwards. COSMOS-AzTEC-1, on the other hand, has three cores – or two smaller cores with their own discs several light-yearsyears away from the central one.
‘In most distant starburst galaxies, stars are actively formed in the centre. So it is surprising to find off-centre clouds,’ Tadaki said.
In contrast to other galaxies, this one looks to be highly unstable.
According to the researchers, the sheer weight of the galaxy from its massive cloud of gas exerts too much pressure on the core, which the outward spin cannot compensate for. Gravity pressing inwards and pressure pushing outwards are balanced in a typical galaxy. This one, on the other hand, is undergoing a huge gravitational collapse, which is most likely what is triggering its rapid star production.
According to the team, the entire monstrous galaxy will disintegrate in roughly 100 million years. But they have yet to explain how it became so gigantic in the first place.
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