Astronomers are unraveling the mystery behind the creation of the universe's largest elliptical galaxies — an enigma that has puzzled scientists for decades.
These colossal galaxies, unlike our Milky Way's flat, spiral structure, resemble bulging footballs and are among the oldest cosmic structures known.
Cosmic Collisions 12 Billion Years Ago Sparked Giant Elliptical Galaxies
A team led by the University of Southampton has identified the birth sites of these galactic giants, shedding light on their formation. Scientists believe that massive flows of cold gas and early collisions between galaxies played a key role in their creation.
These events occurred between 8 and 12 billion years ago when the universe was more active, leading to rapid star formation fueled by concentrated gas in galactic cores.
The discovery was made using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), the world's largest radio telescope located in Chile's Atacama Desert.
Researchers studied over 100 star-forming galaxies in the distant universe, using a novel method to analyze light distribution from these luminous galaxies.
The findings provide the first strong evidence that elliptical galaxies form through intense bursts of star creation in their cores.
The study, published in Nature, was a collaborative effort involving the University of Southampton, the Purple Mountain Observatory in China, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
According to PhysOrg, Dr. Annagrazia Puglisi, one of the study's authors, explained that the merging of disk-shaped galaxies in the early universe caused gas to sink toward their centers, igniting the formation of trillions of stars at a rate much faster than the Milky Way.
This rapid formation process also fed massive black holes at the centers of these galaxies, driving even more dramatic bursts of star creation. Such activity has long intrigued astrophysicists, and this study offers groundbreaking insights into these ancient cosmic phenomena.
Researchers Use Advanced Imaging to Decode Galaxy Formation
In addition to their observations, researchers used open-source data from projects like A3COSMOS and A3GOODSS, enabling high-quality imaging of distant galaxies, SciTechDaily said.
The team plans to build on their findings by combining data from advanced telescopes, including the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the Euclid satellite, and instruments aboard the Chinese Space Station.
This will help create detailed maps of the stellar structures within galaxies, offering a fuller picture of their early formation.
The new findings not only bring scientists closer to solving one of astronomy's biggest mysteries but also deepen our understanding of how the universe evolved over billions of years. By piecing together these cosmic clues, researchers are uncovering the story of the universe's most massive galactic structures and their role in shaping the cosmos.
