NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) was able to spot a far Sparkler galaxy that could reveal the Milky Way's cannibalistic characteristics that enabled its further growth.
Milky Way's Twin
According to the Space Academy, a cannibal galaxy that was spotted by the JWST was seen to mirror the Milky Way very intricately. This observation has the capacity to shed light on how the galaxy formed. Findings were included in the Royal Astronomical Society's Monthly Notices.
This 9-billion-light-years-away galaxy has been dubbed Sparkler after the two dozen global clusters and dwarf galaxies that radiate around it. The researchers state that the Sparkler has been feeding on its nearby surroundings in order to expand and become bigger.
The JWST First Deep Field was able to first discover such a celestial frenzy. Publicly released in July 2022, the shot reveals the galaxy as an orange line that is warped and surrounded by light spots. Now, a further study has shown that this said galaxy feeds on its neighbors in a way that largely mirrors the Milky Way.
It's here–the deepest, sharpest infrared view of the universe to date: Webb's First Deep Field.
— NASA (@NASA) July 11, 2022
Previewed by @POTUS on July 11, it shows galaxies once invisible to us. The full set of @NASAWebb's first full-color images & data will be revealed July 12: https://t.co/63zxpNDi4I pic.twitter.com/zAr7YoFZ8C
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Origins, Future of the Cannibal Galaxy
According to Universe Today, the Sparkler can be found within the Volans constellation's direction. With its redshift equating to z = 1.38, the galaxy is around 9 billion light years away. Just like the earth's very own galaxy, the Sparkler did not spring up as a fully developed galaxy. Both started as matter overdensities during the universe's earlier periods. They can be perceived as cosmic seeds that have mutual attraction with each other due to a gravitational pull. Global clusters resulted from some clumps, probably even before the galaxy was even born. This is why there are globular stars that are older than the galaxies they belong to.
There was, then, a period of acquisitions and mergers as the young Milky Way fed on dwarf galaxies that were close to it. This could have been the case for Sparkler, too. Such a step is remarkably huge in the evolutionary context. There is a chance that over 50% of the Milky Way's mass is attributed to these mergers. As time passed, the materials came together and formed a spiral shape where the sun and several other stars can be spotted.
Given the data from the JWST, astronomers are assuming that the Sparkler may mirror the evolutionary paths that the Milky Way once took. While the galaxy only has around 3% of the Milky Way's mass, this may change as it feeds on other dwarf galaxies. It will eventually reach the Milky Way's present-day mass.
This excites astronomers, as they will have the chance to look into the evolutionary paths taken by the Milky Way. Duncan Forbes, a professor from Swinburne University in Australia, states that they are excited for the rare opportunity to look into how the young Milky Way and globular clusters formed back when the universe was only a third of its current age.
Considering how the resemblance between the Sparkler and the Milky Way has been established, the researchers are now interested in utilizing deeper imaging in order to identify more clusters surrounding the far galaxy. They also want to know more about the Sparkler and the Milky Way's origins.
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