Astronomers uncover misshapen galaxy is a cosmic predator that bears ‘scars’ from its final meal (picture)
An uncommon elliptical galaxy with a historical past of absorbing smaller galaxies seems to be approaching its subsequent goal.
New photographs from the Very Massive Telescope (VLT) on the European Southern Observatory’s (ESO) Paranal Observatory counsel that the galaxy, often known as NGC 3640, could quickly merge with a smaller galactic companion. Situated 88 million light-years from Earth, NGC 3640 belongs to a bunch of galaxies that vary in form and measurement, together with its personal uncommon oval or egg form.
The VLT photographs revealed that NGC 3640 has eaten different galaxies over the previous a number of billion years and a smaller neighbor, often known as NGC 3641, now lies inside its path. Situated just under NGC 3640 within the latest picture, NGC 3641 could finally be the bigger galaxy’s subsequent meal.
“All through their extraordinarily lengthy lifetime, galaxies change. As they soar via house, they might steal gasoline and stars from different galaxies, and even engulf and merge with them,” ESO officers mentioned in a press release accompanying the brand new picture. “After these occasions, galaxies can turn into distorted, as exemplified by the misshaped NGC 3640 and the diffuse mild round it.”
As two galaxies method one another, their gravitational pulls turn into more and more robust, inflicting them to finally collide and merge right into a single, bigger galaxy. This, in flip, disrupts the unique constructions of each galaxies.
Fortunately, NGC 3641 should have a while earlier than it’s consumed by its bigger neighbor. The latest VLT photographs don’t present any indicators of NGC 3641 being distorted by the approaching galaxy, suggesting NGC 3640 is just not but shut sufficient to pose a menace.
Utilizing the brand new VLT photographs, astronomers on the Italian Nationwide Institute for Astrophysics have been in a position to parse out NGC 3640’s previous. A collision between two galaxies leaves “scars” on the surviving cosmic physique, which typically accommodates among the first stars created inside the unique galaxy.
Subsequently, these stars function “fossil markers” of the unique galaxy’s previous, which is how the group decided NGC 3640 has beforehand engulfed different galaxies, in line with the assertion.
Their findings have been revealed Nov. 5, 2024 within the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.
