. 24/7 Space News .
STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Tsunami of stars and gas produces dazzling eye-shaped feature in galaxy
by Staff Writers
Charlottesville VA (SPX) Nov 08, 2016


Dazzling eyelid-like features bursting with stars in galaxy IC 2163 formed from a tsunami of stars and gas triggered by a glancing collision with galaxy NGC 2207 (a portion of its spiral arm is shown on right side of image). ALMA image of carbon monoxide (orange), which revealed motion of the gas in these features, is shown on top of Hubble image (blue) of the galaxy. Image courtesy M. Kaufman; B. Saxton (NRAO/AUI/NSF); ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO); NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. For a larger version of this image please go here.

Astronomers using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) have discovered a tsunami of stars and gas that is crashing midway through the disk of a spiral galaxy known as IC 2163. This colossal wave of material - which was triggered when IC 2163 recently sideswiped another spiral galaxy dubbed NGC 2207 - produced dazzling arcs of intense star formation that resemble a pair of eyelids.

"Although galaxy collisions of this type are not uncommon, only a few galaxies with eye-like, or ocular, structures are known to exist," said Michele Kaufman, an astronomer formerly with The Ohio State University in Columbus and lead author on a paper published in the Astrophysical Journal.

Kaufman and her colleagues note that the paucity of similar features in the observable universe is likely due to their ephemeral nature. "Galactic eyelids last only a few tens of millions of years, which is incredibly brief in the lifespan of a galaxy. Finding one in such a newly formed state gives us an exceptional opportunity to study what happens when one galaxy grazes another," said Kaufman.

The interacting pair of galaxies resides approximately 114 million light-years from Earth in the direction of the constellation Canis Major. These galaxies brushed past each other - scraping the edges of their outer spiral arms - in what is likely the first encounter of an eventual merger.

Using ALMA's remarkable sensitivity and resolution, the astronomers made the most detailed measurements ever of the motion of carbon monoxide gas in the galaxy's narrow eyelid features. Carbon monoxide is a tracer of molecular gas, which is the fuel for star formation.

The data reveal that the gas in the outer portion of IC 2163's eyelids is racing inward at speeds in excess of 100 kilometers a second. This gas, however, quickly decelerates and its motion becomes more chaotic, eventually changing trajectory and aligning itself with the rotation of the galaxy rather than continuing its pell-mell rush toward the center.

"What we observe in this galaxy is very much like a massive ocean wave barreling toward shore until it interacts with the shallows, causing it to lose momentum and dump all of its water and sand on the beach," said Bruce Elmegreen, a scientist with IBM's T.J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown Heights, New York, and co-author on the paper.

"Not only do we find a rapid deceleration of the gas as it moves from the outer to the inner edge of the eyelids, but we also measure that the more rapidly it decelerates, the denser the molecular gas becomes," said Kaufman. "This direct measurement of compression shows how the encounter between the two galaxies drives gas to pile up, spawn new star clusters and form these dazzling eyelid features."

Computer models predict that such eyelid-like features could evolve if galaxies interacted in a very specific manner. "This evidence for a strong shock in the eyelids is terrific. It's all very well to have a theory and simulations suggesting it should be true, but real observational evidence is great," said Curtis Struck, a professor of astrophysics at Iowa State University in Ames and co-author on the paper.

"ALMA showed us that the velocities of the molecular gas in the eyelids are on the right track with the predictions we get from computer models," said Kaufman. "This critical test of encounter simulations was not possible before."

Astronomers believe that such collisions between galaxies were common in the early universe when galaxies were closer together. At that time, however, galactic disks were generally clumpy and irregular, so other processes likely overwhelmed the formation of similar eyelid features.

The authors continue to study this galaxy pair and currently are comparing the properties (e.g., locations, ages, and masses) of the star clusters previously observed with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope with the properties of the molecular clouds observed with ALMA. They hope to better understand the differences between molecular clouds and star clusters in the eyelids and those elsewhere in the galaxy pair.


Comment on this article using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
Stellar Chemistry, The Universe And All Within It






Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

Previous Report
STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Lithium mostly comes from supernovas
Granada, Spain (SPX) Nov 04, 2016
Lithium, the lightest solid element in existence, plays an important role in our lives, both at the biological and the technological level. Like the majority of chemical elements, its origins stem back to astrophysical phenomena, but its point of genesis was so far unclear. Recently, a group of researchers detected enormous quantities of beryllium-7 -an unstable element which decays into lithium ... read more


STELLAR CHEMISTRY
NavCube could support an X-ray communication test in space

Japan rocket with manga art launches satellite into space

NASA, Navy practice Orion module recovery

Weightless tourism just 4 years away

STELLAR CHEMISTRY
JCSAT-15 arrives in Kourou for Dec Ariane 5 launch

China launches first heavy-lift rocket

Aerojet Rocketdyne completes CST launch abort engine hot fire tests

NASA Uses Tunnel Approach to Study How Heat Affects SLS Rocket

STELLAR CHEMISTRY
'Millions' needed to continue Europe's Mars mission: ESA chief

Six people to spend two weeks in Mars simulation habitat in Poland

Opportunity makes small U-turn to reach summit of Spirit Mound

Schiaparelli crash site in colour

STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Long March-5 reflects China's "greatest advancement" yet in rockets

New heavy-lift carrier rocket boosts China's space dream

Long March-7 being assembled, to transport Tianzhou-1

Kuaizhou-1 scheduled to launch in December

STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Sun-observing MinXSS CubeSat to yield insights into solar flare energetics

Optus achieves full certification of 4 teleports

ISRO's World record bid: Launching 83 satellites on single rocket

Shared vision and goals for the future of Europe in space

STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Vector and ATLAS partner to introduce new satellite ground architecture offering

3-D-printed permanent magnets outperform conventional versions, conserve rare materials

Nickel-78 is a doubly magic isotope supercomputer confirms

Researchers bring eyewear-free 3-D capabilities to small screen

STELLAR CHEMISTRY
What happens to a pathogenic fungus grown in space?

How Planets Like Jupiter Form

Giant Rings Around Exoplanet Turn in the Wrong Direction

Preferentially Earth-sized Planets with Lots of Water

STELLAR CHEMISTRY
Mystery solved behind birth of Saturn's rings

Last Bits of 2015 Pluto Flyby Data Received on Earth

Uranus may have two undiscovered moons

Possible Clouds on Pluto, Next Target is Reddish









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.