Africa-Press – Eritrea. Thanks to modern data and technology, scientists have been able to record processes that remotely resemble those that took place in our own galaxy when it was created.
A team of astrophysicists at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), is observing galaxy convergence processes in Stephan’s Quintet, located 270 million light years from Earth in the constellation Pegasus. The processes occurring in this group are unique and may help scientists understand the formation of the universe.
Stephan’s Quintet consists of five galaxies – NGC 7317, NGC 7318a, NGC 7318b, NGC 7319, and NGC 7320. One of them, NGC 7318b, flew into the group of others at a speed of about 800 km/s (for comparison: at this speed it would take only a little over 50 seconds to circle the Earth along the equator). As a result of the collision, a shock wave was formed, which is larger than the entire Milky Way.
Due to the fact that this is happening in a zone of a small number of stars, the so-called intergalactic medium, scientists were able to record the course of the process in detail. In the three observation zones, they were able to capture the following:
At the center of the shock wave, a cluster of cold molecules disintegrates into a long tail of warmer molecular hydrogen, which then goes through the same process – “recycling plant.”
In another area, two cold clouds are connected by a stream of warm hydrogen. One of these clouds, according to scientists, behaves like a “high-speed bullet” cutting a strand of gas.
In a third area, scientists have discerned protostellar disks and expect the nucleation of a new dwarf galaxy in this area.
The team has further plans to use the James Webb spectrometers. The heated hydrogen will provide data on the velocities and vectors of its own motion. This will give astronomers details that can provide significant information about the course of galaxy formation.
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