Study helps prove galaxy evolution theory

[Jim__]

From phys.org:

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Everyone has a backstory, even our own Milky Way galaxy. And much like social media, the picture is not always as pretty as it appears on the current surface, says Texas A&M University astronomer Casey Papovich.

Papovich notes that large disk galaxies like our own Milky Way were not always the well-ordered, pinwheel-like, spiral structures we see in the universe today. On the contrary, he and other international experts who specialize in galaxy formation and evolution believe that about 8-to-10 billion years ago, progenitors of the Milky Way and similar disk/spiral galaxies were smaller and less organized, yet highly active in their youth.

In previous NASA and National Science Foundation-funded research, Papovich and his collaborators showed that these younger versions of such galaxies were churning out new stars faster than at any other point in their lifespans, suggesting that they must be amazingly rich in star-forming material. And now, they have compelling evidence—the galactic equivalent of a smoking gun.

Using the National Radio Astronomy Observatory's Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA)—a huge, highly sophisticated radio telescope array situated at 16,500 feet altitude in the high desert of Chile—a Papovich-led team of astronomers studied four very young versions of galaxies like the Milky Way that are 9 billion light-years distant, meaning the team could see them as they looked approximately 9 billion years ago. They discovered that each galaxy was incredibly rich in carbon monoxide—a well-known tracer of molecular gas, which is the fuel for star formation.

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[PJMcK]

1. Fascinating discovery

Thanks for posting the link, Jim__.