Giant 'space river' of hydrogen solves the mystery of why spiral galaxies keep spewing out stars
Giant 'space river' of hydrogen solves the mystery of why spiral galaxies keep spewing out stars
Unprecedented insight into how galaxies like our own Milky Way form new stars
Very faint, very tenuous filament of gas is streaming into the nearby galaxy NGC 6946 - just 22 million miles from Earth
By Mark Prigg
PUBLISHED: 15:38 EST, 28 January 2014 | UPDATED: 15:39 EST, 28 January 2014
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The bright star-filled central region of galaxy NGC 6946 is shown in blue, while the dense hydrogen tracing out
the galaxy's sweeping spiral arms and galactic halo is orange, and the extremely diffuse and extended 'river'
of hydrogen engulfing NGC 6946 and its companions is red[/font]
Astronomers have spotted a giant river of hydrogen in space - and say it could be what gives spiral galaxies their ability to keep spewing out stars.
They say it could give an unprecedented insight into how galaxies like our own Milky Way form new stars - and why some are far more productive than others.
The groundbreaking discovery helps explain the mystery that had baffled astronomers.
'We knew that the fuel for star formation had to come from somewhere,' said astronomer D.J. Pisano from West Virginia University. 'So far, however, we’ve detected only about 10 percent of what would be necessary to explain what we observe in many galaxies.'
More:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2547658/The-giant-space-river-Hydrogen-spiral-galaxies-spewing-stars.html#ixzz2rjZnPZXG
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But who's counting?
