Astronomers have discovered which galaxy is inhabited by aliens. Strange radio pulses from another galaxy: maybe they are aliens after all? Elliptical galaxies of the Messier catalog
The universe is huge and fascinating. It is difficult to imagine how small the Earth is compared to the cosmic abyss. Astronomers' best guess is that there are 100 billion galaxies, and the Milky Way is just one of them. As for Earth, there are 17 billion similar planets in the Milky Way alone... and that's not counting others that are radically different from our planet. And among the galaxies that have become known to scientists today, there are very unusual ones.
1. Messier 82
Messier 82 or simply M82 is a galaxy five times brighter than the Milky Way. This is due to the very rapid birth of young stars in it - they appear 10 times more often than in our galaxy. The red plumes emanating from the center of the galaxy are flaming hydrogen that is being ejected from the center of M82.
2. Sunflower Galaxy
Formally known as Messier 63, this galaxy has been nicknamed the Sunflower because it looks like it came straight out of a Vincent Van Gogh painting. Its bright, sinuous "petals" are composed of newly formed blue-white giant stars.
3. MACS J0717
MACS J0717 is one of the strangest galaxies known to scientists. Technically, this is not a single stellar object, but a cluster of galaxies - MACS J0717 was formed by the collision of four other galaxies. Moreover, the collision process has been going on for more than 13 million years.
4. Messier 74
If Santa Claus had a favorite galaxy, it would clearly be Messier 74. Astronomers often think about it during the Christmas holidays, because the galaxy is very similar to the Advent wreath.
5. Galaxy Baby Boom
Located approximately 12.2 billion light-years from Earth, the Baby Boom Galaxy was discovered in 2008. It got its nickname due to the fact that new stars are born in it incredibly quickly - approximately every 2 hours. For example, in the Milky Way new star appears on average every 36 days.
6. Milky Way
Our Milky Way Galaxy (which contains solar system, and, accordingly, the Earth) is truly one of the most remarkable galaxies known to scientists in the Universe. It contains at least 100 billion planets and about 200-400 billion stars, some of which are among the oldest in the known universe.
7. IDCS 1426
Thanks to the IDCS 1426 galaxy cluster, today we can see what the Universe was like two-thirds younger than it is now. IDCS 1426 is the most massive galaxy cluster in the early Universe, having a mass of about 500 trillion Suns. The galaxy's bright blue core of gas is the result of the collision of galaxies in this cluster.
8.I Zwicky 18
The blue dwarf galaxy I Zwicky 18 is the youngest known galaxy. Its age is only 500 million years (age milky way- 12 billion years) and it is essentially in an embryonic state. This is a giant cloud of cold hydrogen and helium.
9. NGC 6744
NGC 6744 is a large spiral galaxy that astronomers believe is one of the most similar to our Milky Way. The galaxy, located about 30 million light-years from Earth, has surprisingly identical Milky Way elongated core and spiral arms.
10. NGC 6872
The galaxy, known as NGC 6872, is the second largest spiral galaxy ever discovered by scientists. Many regions of active star formation were found in it. Since NGC 6872 has virtually no free hydrogen left to form stars, it is sucking it out of the neighboring galaxy IC 4970.
11. MACS J0416
Found 4.3 billion light-years from Earth, galaxy MACS J0416 looks more like some kind of light show at a fancy disco. In fact, behind the bright purple and pink colors lies an event of colossal proportions - the collision of two galaxy clusters.
12. M60 and NGC 4647 - galactic pair
Although gravitational forces pull most galaxies toward each other, there is no evidence that this is happening with neighboring Messier 60 and NGC 4647, nor is there any evidence that they are moving away from each other. Like a couple living together long ago, these two galaxies race side by side through cold, dark space.
13. Messier 81
Located near Messier 25, Messier 81 is a spiral galaxy with a supermassive black hole at its center that is 70 million times the mass of the Sun. M81 is home to many short-lived but very hot blue stars. Gravitational interaction with M82 resulted in plumes of hydrogen gas stretching between both galaxies.
About 600 million years ago, the galaxies NGC 4038 and NGC 4039 crashed into each other, beginning a massive exchange of stars and galactic matter. Because of their appearance, these galaxies are called antennas.
15. Galaxy Sombrero
The Sombrero Galaxy is one of the most popular among amateur astronomers. It gets its name because it looks like this headdress thanks to its bright core and large central bulge.
16. 2MASX J16270254 + 4328340
This galaxy, blurry in all photographs, is known under the rather complex name 2MASX J16270254 + 4328340. As a result of the merger of two galaxies, a “fine fog consisting of millions of stars” was formed. This "fog" is believed to be slowly dissipating as the galaxy reaches the end of its lifespan.
17. NGC 5793
Not too strange (though very beautiful) at first glance, spiral galaxy NGC 5793 is better known for its a rare occurrence: masers. People are familiar with lasers, which emit light in the visible region of the spectrum, but few know about masers, which emit light in the microwave range.
18. Triangulum Galaxy
The photo shows the nebula NGC 604, located in one of the spiral arms of the galaxy Messier 33. More than 200 very hot stars heat the ionized hydrogen in this nebula, causing it to fluoresce.
19. NGC 2685
NGC 2685, also sometimes called a spiral galaxy, is located in the constellation Ursa Major. As one of the first polar ring galaxies found, NGC 2685 has an outer ring of gas and stars orbiting the galaxy's poles, making it one of the rarest types of galaxies. Scientists still don't know what causes these polar rings to form.
20. Messier 94
Messier 94 looks like a terrible hurricane that was removed from orbit on Earth. This galaxy is surrounded by bright blue rings of actively forming stars.
21. Pandora Cluster
Formally known as Abell 2744, this galaxy has been nicknamed the Pandora cluster due to a number of strange phenomena resulting from the collision of several smaller clusters of galaxies. There is real chaos going on inside.
22. NGC 5408
What looks more like a colorful birthday cake in the photos is an irregular galaxy in the constellation Centaurus. It is notable for the fact that it emits extremely powerful x-rays.
23. Whirlpool Galaxy
The Whirlpool Galaxy, officially known as M51a or NGC 5194, is large enough and close enough to the Milky Way to be visible in the night sky even with binoculars. It was the first spiral galaxy to be classified and is of particular interest to scientists due to its interaction with the dwarf galaxy NGC 5195.
24.SDSS J1038+4849
The galaxy cluster SDSS J1038+4849 is one of the most attractive clusters ever found by astronomers. He looks like a real smiley face in space. The eyes and nose are galaxies, and the curved line of the "mouth" is due to the effects of gravitational lensing.
25. NGC3314a and NGC3314b
Although these two galaxies look like they are colliding, this is actually an optical illusion. There are tens of millions of light years between them.
Scientists are still trying to answer the question “Are we alone in the Universe?” They believe that in the constellation Pavo there is a galaxy NGC 6744, which could be inhabited aliens. This conclusion was made because the parameters galaxies similar to the characteristics of the Milky Way. That is, the conditions for the emergence of life in it are optimal.
The search for extraterrestrial life took place based on the vital needs of man. Galaxy NGC 6744 best answers them. However, it is almost impossible to study it in detail. The problem is that scientists see it as it was during the time of the dinosaurs. And the distance to it from our planet is 30 million light years! However, it is already known that the cluster is 2 times larger than our galaxy. Otherwise, its characteristics are similar to the Milky Way.
It is not possible to send an unmanned mission into the galaxy. An engine with the required power has not yet been invented. However, scientists are actively working to eliminate this deficiency.
Perhaps aliens live in the arms of NGC 6744. Moreover, they are located on stable stars, and not on planets. The appearance of aliens may be similar to humans, but this is just a theory. In addition, dinosaurs can live in this galaxy, as well as plants and animals that lived on our planet several million years ago.
Are there other galaxies worthy of attention?
Scientists from the United States continue to search for galaxies inhabited by aliens using infrared radiation. In this way they found about 50 objects. Their level of radiation in the IR range is slightly overestimated.
The presented technique was invented back in 1960 by F. Dyson. The physicist proposed to implement search for aliens by infrared radiation. He explained that if there are aliens in the galaxy, there will be increased infrared radiation in the mid-wave range.
Many people listened to the physicist’s opinion. However, until recently, the technical capabilities of scientists did not allow them to conduct a search using the proposed method. The WISE telescope made it possible to do this. With its help, after analyzing 100,000 galaxies, 50 galaxies were identified. They have high IR radiation.
Scientists also suggest paying attention to the constellation Auriga; unusual things come from it. radio flares. It is located 100 million light years from our planet. Scientists say the flashes could be signals from aliens.
To protect such a structure from destruction under the influence of unbearable temperatures, the use of some kind of liquid cooling system would most likely be required. Such a translator design, according to scientists, would be far beyond our technological capabilities, but nevertheless would not violate the laws of physics known to us, which is good in itself.
As for the purposes for which an extraterrestrial civilization could build such a device, then, according to scientists, it could be used as an interstellar or even intergalactic signaling system, informing other intelligent life forms about the existence of another civilization.
“You can also imagine an emitter that creates directed radio waves and can be used as a kind of light sail. Similar to a sail that is driven by the wind, a light sail gets its momentum from light energy, theoretically allowing it to accelerate to the speed of light,” Loeb continues.
To be able to create the necessary impulse and accelerate the light sail, such an emitter must have incredible power. It is possible that this power level is so great that it is enough to accelerate objects weighing several million tons (think of 20 huge cruise ships as an example). According to Manasvi Lingram, such an emitter will be able to send huge spaceships with passengers on interstellar or even intergalactic travel.
Interestingly, our civilization also plans to use light sails for interstellar travel in the near future, albeit on a much smaller scale. Theoretical physicist and Russian billionaire Yuri Milner thinks it's a great idea and decided to invest $100 million in the Breakthrough Starshot project last year. And earlier this year, scientists from the Max Planck Institute used a solar sail device to study Alpha Centauri, which is the closest star system to us.
That is, scientists are leading to the conclusion that the FRB flares that we detect on Earth may be a “leakage” or a side emission of an alien system that creates these impulses to accelerate alien spacecraft.
“Radio beams cross different parts of our sky because their source changes its location relative to us,” Loeb explains.
“This may be due to the peculiarity of the rotation of the object generating this energy, or to the very rotation of the star or the entire galaxy as a whole where this source is located. From time to time, the rays are sent straight to the Earth and at the same time confuse our astronomers.”
Be that as it may, such an explanation was enough for Loeb and Lingham’s work to be accepted for publication in scientific journal Astrophysical Journal Letters.
It is clear that much more work needs to be done and more convincing evidence must be collected. Yet many scientists agree that these signals are very strange. For example, Andrew Simeon, director of the SETI Research Institute, points out that these FRB signals, like nothing else, force scientists to consider a variety of different and sometimes even fantastic and crazy ideas about their source. Simeon, who was not involved in the study discussed today, supports the Harvard astronomers' work, even if it takes a somewhat unconventional approach.
“We cannot rule out the possibility that anomalous signals, like these fast radio pulses, could be created by extraterrestrial technology. And although this is unlikely, the idea should still be a possibility that should not be dismissed out of hand,” says Simeon.
"Lingram and Loeb's work offers an intriguing idea about special technology, beyond our understanding of traditional forms of communications or radar systems (systems of directed energy transmission) capable of producing short-term radio pulses. And although this option in itself is very controversial, it provides an excellent example of the fact that in such discussions we should be open to absolutely any proposals and assumptions, especially when it comes to the search for potential signals from extraterrestrial civilizations.”
Despite this remark by Simeon, the new hypothesis should not be considered anything more than another assumption trying to explain the nature of strange radio pulses, so it would be foolish to draw any conclusions now. Nowadays there is a general tendency - both in the media and among the public - to draw conclusions ahead of time. As one of the latest examples, we can consider very, all the information about which one way or another came down to theories about aliens, rather than to something more scientific and substantiated from the point of view of astrophysics.
Loeb agrees that his hypothesis may sound too fantastical, but according to the scientist, it should not be ruled out simply because it may sound too bizarre to some.
“One of the most amazing things about doing science is that one can rule out a possibility only after providing enough convincing evidence for a better idea,” says Loeb.
“Science has many examples showing the unwiseness of ruling out a wide variety of possibilities solely on the basis of one's prejudices, since in the end this always leads to stagnation, not progress. Even if it seems to me that, based on the data collected, it is possible to infer that artificial source FRB signals, I would have no problem accepting a different explanation for this phenomenon if I were given more accurate data. Science is the experience of knowledge. We figure out how nature works by rejecting the wrong ones based on our observations rather than our preconceptions.”
A galaxy is a large formation of stars, gas, and dust that is held together by gravity. These largest compounds in the Universe can vary in shape and size. Most space objects are part of a particular galaxy. These are stars, planets, satellites, nebulae, black holes and asteroids. Some of the galaxies have large amounts of invisible dark energy. Due to the fact that galaxies are separated by empty space, they are figuratively called oases in the cosmic desert.
| Elliptical galaxy | Spiral galaxy | Wrong galaxy | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spheroidal component | The entire galaxy | Eat | Very weak |
| Star disk | None or weakly expressed | Main component | Main component |
| Gas and dust disk | No | Eat | Eat |
| Spiral branches | No or only near the core | Eat | No |
| Active cores | Meet | Meet | No |
| 20% | 55% | 5% |
Our galaxy
The closest star to us, the Sun, is one of the billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy. Looking at the starry night sky, it’s hard not to notice a wide strip strewn with stars. The ancient Greeks called the cluster of these stars the Galaxy.
If we had the opportunity to look at this star system from the outside, we would notice an oblate ball in which there are over 150 billion stars. Our galaxy has dimensions that are hard to imagine. A ray of light travels from one side to the other for hundreds of thousands of Earth years! The center of our Galaxy is occupied by a core, from which huge spiral branches filled with stars extend. The distance from the Sun to the core of the Galaxy is 30 thousand light years. The solar system is located on the outskirts of the Milky Way.
Stars in the Galaxy despite the huge cluster cosmic bodies are rare. For example, the distance between the nearest stars is tens of millions of times greater than their diameters. It cannot be said that stars are scattered randomly in the Universe. Their location depends on the gravitational forces that hold celestial body in a certain plane. Star systems with their own gravitational fields and are called galaxies. In addition to stars, the galaxy includes gas and interstellar dust.
Composition of galaxies.
The Universe is also made up of many other galaxies. The closest ones to us are distant at a distance of 150 thousand light years. They can be seen in the sky of the southern hemisphere in the form of small foggy spots. They were first described by Pigafett, a member of the Magellanic expedition around the world. They entered science under the name of the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds.
The closest galaxy to us is the Andromeda Nebula. It is very large in size, so it is visible from Earth with ordinary binoculars, and in clear weather, even with the naked eye.
The very structure of the galaxy resembles a giant spiral convex in space. On one of the spiral arms, ¾ of the distance from the center, is the Solar System. Everything in the galaxy revolves around the central core and is subject to the force of its gravity. In 1962, astronomer Edwin Hubble classified galaxies depending on their shape. The scientist divided all galaxies into elliptical, spiral, irregular and barred galaxies.
In the part of the Universe accessible to astronomical research, there are billions of galaxies. Collectively, astronomers call them the Metagalaxy.
Galaxies of the Universe
Galaxies are represented by large groups of stars, gas, and dust held together by gravity. They can vary significantly in shape and size. Most space objects belong to some galaxy. These are black holes, asteroids, stars with satellites and planets, nebulae, neutron satellites.
Most galaxies in the Universe contain enormous amounts of invisible dark energy. Since the space between different galaxies is considered empty, they are often called oases in the void of space. For example, a star called the Sun is one of the billions of stars in the Milky Way galaxy located in our Universe. The Solar System is located ¾ of the distance from the center of this spiral. In this galaxy, everything constantly moves around the central core, which obeys its gravity. However, the core also moves with the galaxy. At the same time, all galaxies move at super speeds.
Astronomer Edwin Hubble in 1962 carried out a logical classification of the galaxies of the Universe, taking into account their shape. Now galaxies are divided into 4 main groups: elliptical, spiral, barred and irregular galaxies.
What is the largest galaxy in our Universe?
The largest galaxy in the Universe is a supergiant lenticular galaxy located in the Abell 2029 cluster.
Spiral galaxies
They are galaxies that are shaped like a flat spiral disk with a bright center (core). The Milky Way is a typical spiral galaxy. Spiral galaxies are usually called with the letter S; they are divided into 4 subgroups: Sa, So, Sc and Sb. Galaxies belonging to the So group are distinguished by bright nuclei that do not have spiral arms. As for the Sa galaxies, they are distinguished by dense spiral arms tightly wound around the central core. The arms of Sc and Sb galaxies rarely surround the core.
Spiral galaxies of the Messier catalog
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Barred galaxies
Bar galaxies are similar to spiral galaxies, but have one difference. In such galaxies, spirals begin not from the core, but from the bridges. About 1/3 of all galaxies fall into this category. They are usually designated by the letters SB. In turn, they are divided into 3 subgroups Sbc, SBb, SBa. The difference between these three groups is determined by the shape and length of the jumpers, where, in fact, the arms of the spirals begin.
Spiral galaxies with the Messier catalog bar
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Elliptical galaxies
The shape of galaxies can vary from perfectly round to elongated oval. Their distinctive feature is the absence of a central bright core. They are designated by the letter E and are divided into 6 subgroups (according to shape). Such forms are designated E0 to E7. The former have an almost round shape, while the E7 are characterized by an extremely elongated shape.
Elliptical galaxies of the Messier catalog
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Irregular galaxies
They do not have any pronounced structure or shape. Irregular galaxies are usually divided into 2 classes: IO and Im. The most common is the Im class of galaxies (it has only a slight hint of structure). In some cases, helical residues are visible. IO belongs to the class of galaxies that are chaotic in shape. The Small and Large Magellanic Clouds are a prime example of the Im class.
Irregular galaxies of the Messier catalog
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Table of characteristics of the main types of galaxies
| Elliptical galaxy | Spiral galaxy | Wrong galaxy | |
| Spheroidal component | The entire galaxy | Eat | Very weak |
| Star disk | None or weakly expressed | Main component | Main component |
| Gas and dust disk | No | Eat | Eat |
| Spiral branches | No or only near the core | Eat | No |
| Active cores | Meet | Meet | No |
| Percent of total number galaxies | 20% | 55% | 5% |
Large portrait of galaxies
Not long ago, astronomers began working on a joint project to identify the location of galaxies throughout the Universe. Their task is to get a more detailed picture general structure and the shape of the Universe on large scales. Unfortunately, the scale of the universe is difficult for many people to comprehend. Take our galaxy, which consists of more than a hundred billion stars. There are billions more galaxies in the Universe. Distant galaxies have been discovered, but we see their light as it was almost 9 billion years ago (we are separated by such a great distance).
Astronomers learned that most galaxies belong to a certain group (it became known as a “cluster”). The Milky Way is part of a cluster, which in turn consists of forty known galaxies. Typically, most of these clusters are part of an even larger grouping called superclusters.
Our cluster is part of a supercluster, which is commonly called the Virgo cluster. Such a massive cluster consists of more than 2 thousand galaxies. At the time when astronomers created a map of the location of these galaxies, superclusters began to take a concrete form. Large superclusters have gathered around what appear to be giant bubbles or voids. What kind of structure this is, no one yet knows. We don't understand what might be inside these voids. According to the assumption, they may be filled with a certain type of dark matter unknown to scientists or have empty space inside. It will be a long time before we know the nature of such voids.
Galactic Computing
Edwin Hubble is the founder of galactic exploration. He is the first to determine how to calculate the exact distance to a galaxy. In his research, he relied on the method of pulsating stars, which are better known as Cepheids. The scientist was able to notice a connection between the period needed to complete one pulsation of brightness and the energy that the star releases. The results of his research became a major breakthrough in the field of galactic research. In addition, he discovered that there is a correlation between the red spectrum emitted by a galaxy and its distance (the Hubble constant).
Nowadays, astronomers can measure the distance and speed of a galaxy by measuring the amount of redshift in the spectrum. It is known that all galaxies in the Universe are moving away from each other. The farther a galaxy is from Earth, the greater its speed of movement.
To visualize this theory, just imagine yourself driving a car moving at a speed of 50 km per hour. The car in front of you is driving 50 km per hour faster, which means that its speed is 100 km per hour. There is another car in front of him, which is moving faster by another 50 km per hour. Even though the speed of all 3 cars will be different by 50 km per hour, the first car is actually moving away from you 100 km per hour faster. Since the red spectrum speaks about the speed of the galaxy moving away from us, the following is obtained: the greater the red shift, the faster the galaxy moves and the greater its distance from us.
We now have new tools to help scientists search for new galaxies. Thanks to the Hubble Space Telescope, scientists were able to see what they could only dream of before. The high power of this telescope provides good visibility of even small details in nearby galaxies and allows you to study more distant ones that have not yet been known to anyone. Currently, new space observation instruments are under development, and in the near future they will help to gain a deeper understanding of the structure of the Universe.
Types of galaxies
- Spiral galaxies. The shape resembles a flat spiral disk with a pronounced center, the so-called core. Our Milky Way galaxy falls into this category. In this section of the portal site you will find many different articles describing space objects of our Galaxy.
- Barred galaxies. They resemble spiral ones, only they differ from them in one significant difference. The spirals do not extend from the core, but from the so-called jumpers. One third of all galaxies in the Universe can be attributed to this category.
- Elliptical galaxies have different shapes: from perfectly round to oval elongated. Compared to spiral ones, they lack a central, pronounced core.
- Irregular galaxies do not have a characteristic shape or structure. They cannot be classified into any of the types listed above. There are much fewer irregular galaxies in the vastness of the Universe.
Astronomers in lately launched joint project to identify the location of all galaxies in the Universe. Scientists hope to get a clearer picture of its structure on a large scale. The size of the universe is difficult to estimate human thinking and understanding. Our galaxy alone is a collection of hundreds of billions of stars. And there are billions of such galaxies. We can see light from discovered distant galaxies, but not even imply that we are looking into the past, because the light beam reaches us over tens of billions of years, such a great distance separates us.
Astronomers also associate most galaxies with certain groups called clusters. Our Milky Way belongs to a cluster that consists of 40 explored galaxies. Such clusters are combined into large groups called superclusters. The cluster with our galaxy is part of the Virgo supercluster. This giant cluster contains more than 2 thousand galaxies. After scientists began to draw a map of the location of these galaxies, superclusters acquired certain shapes. Most galactic superclusters were surrounded by giant voids. No one knows what could be inside these voids: outer space like interplanetary space or a new form of matter. It will take a long time to solve this mystery.
Interaction of galaxies
No less interesting for scientists is the question of the interaction of galaxies as components of cosmic systems. It's no secret that space objects are in constant movement. Galaxies are no exception to this rule. Some types of galaxies could cause a collision or merger of two cosmic systems. If you delve into how these space objects appear, large-scale changes as a result of their interaction become more understandable. During the collision of two space systems, a gigantic amount of energy splashes out. The meeting of two galaxies in the vastness of the Universe is an even more probable event than the collision of two stars. Collisions of galaxies do not always end with an explosion. A small space system can freely pass by its larger counterpart, changing its structure only slightly.
Thus, the formation of formations occurs, similar in appearance to elongated corridors. In their composition, stars and gas zones are distinguished, and new stars are often formed. There are times when galaxies do not collide, but only lightly touch each other. However, even such an interaction triggers a chain of irreversible processes that lead to huge changes in the structure of both galaxies.
What future awaits our galaxy?
As scientists suggest, it is possible that in the distant future the Milky Way will be able to absorb a tiny cosmic-sized satellite system, which is located at a distance of 50 light years from us. Research shows that this satellite has a long life potential, but if it collides with its giant neighbor, it will most likely end its separate existence. Astronomers also predict a collision between the Milky Way and the Andromeda Nebula. Galaxies move towards each other at the speed of light. The wait for a probable collision is approximately three billion Earth years. However, whether it will actually happen now is difficult to speculate due to the lack of data on the movement of both space systems.
Description of galaxies onKvant. Space
The portal site will take you to the world of interesting and fascinating space. You will learn the nature of the structure of the Universe, become familiar with the structure of famous large galaxies and their components. By reading articles about our galaxy, we become more clear about some of the phenomena that can be observed in the night sky.
All galaxies are at a great distance from Earth. Only three galaxies can be seen with the naked eye: the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds and the Andromeda Nebula. It is impossible to count all the galaxies. Scientists estimate that their number is about 100 billion. The spatial distribution of galaxies is uneven - one region may contain a huge number of them, while the second will not contain even a single small galaxy. Astronomers were unable to separate images of galaxies from individual stars until the early 90s. At this time, there were about 30 galaxies with individual stars. All of them were assigned to the Local Group. In 1990, a majestic event took place in the development of astronomy as a science - the Hubble Telescope was launched into Earth orbit. It was this technique, as well as new ground-based 10-meter telescopes, that made it possible to see significantly larger number allowed galaxies.
Today, the “astronomical minds” of the world are scratching their heads about the role of dark matter in the construction of galaxies, which manifests itself only in gravitational interaction. For example, in some large galaxies it makes up about 90% of the total mass, while dwarf galaxies may not contain it at all.
Evolution of galaxies
Scientists believe that the emergence of galaxies is a natural stage in the evolution of the Universe, which took place under the influence of gravitational forces. Approximately 14 billion years ago, the formation of protoclusters in the primary substance began. Further, under the influence of various dynamic processes, the separation of galactic groups took place. The abundance of galaxy shapes is explained by the diversity of initial conditions in their formation.
The contraction of the galaxy takes about 3 billion years. Over a given period of time, the gas cloud turns into a star system. Star formation occurs under the influence of gravitational compression of gas clouds. After reaching a certain temperature and density in the center of the cloud sufficient to begin thermonuclear reactions, a new star is formed. Massive stars are formed from thermonuclear chemical elements, exceeding helium in mass. These elements create the primary helium-hydrogen environment. During enormous supernova explosions, elements heavier than iron are formed. It follows from this that the galaxy consists of two generations of stars. The first generation is the oldest stars, consisting of helium, hydrogen and very small amounts of heavy elements. Second-generation stars have a more noticeable admixture of heavy elements because they form from primordial gas enriched in heavy elements.
In modern astronomy, galaxies as cosmic structures are given a special place. The types of galaxies, the features of their interaction, similarities and differences are studied in detail, and a forecast of their future is made. This area still contains a lot of unknowns that require additional study. Modern science solved many questions regarding the types of construction of galaxies, but there were also many blank spots associated with the formation of these cosmic systems. The current pace of modernization of research equipment and the development of new methodologies for studying cosmic bodies give hope for a significant breakthrough in the future. One way or another, galaxies will always be in the center scientific research. And this is based not only on human curiosity. Having received data on the patterns of development of cosmic systems, we will be able to predict the future of our galaxy called the Milky Way.
The most interesting news, scientific, and original articles about the study of galaxies will be provided to you by the website portal. Here you can find exciting videos, high-quality images from satellites and telescopes that will not leave you indifferent. Dive into the world of unknown space with us!
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