MessageToEagle.com - Astronomers from Australia, Germany, Switzerland, and Finland— report the discovery
of an interesting and rare, rectangular-shaped galaxy located at a distance of 21 Mpc.
This galaxy may be the remnant of two (nearly edge-one) merged disk galaxies in which the initial gas was driven
inward and subsequently formed the inner disk.
In the universe around us, the overwhelming majority of bright galaxies exist in one of three main forms.
Many, including our own Milky Way galaxy, are in the shape of a flattened circular disk, typically hosting a spiral pattern
of stars and a central bulge.
A significant number of galaxies are shaped something like an ellipsoidal football, while the remaining few are
lumpy and irregular in appearance.
Pushing into the dwarf galaxy regime, while many elliptical and lenticular dwarf galaxies exist, the spiral galaxies tend to give
way to more irregular looking galaxies without a clear symmetry or form.
This galaxy suggests that knowledge from simulations of both `wet' and `dry' galaxy mergers may need to be combined to
properly understand the various paths that galaxy evolution can take, with a particular relevance to blue elliptical galaxies.
While using the Subaru Prime Focus Camera (Suprime-Cam) to look for globular clusters of stars swarming around NGC 1407,
a bright, giant galaxy in the Constellation Eridanus and 700 million light years from Earth, the researchers discovered
an unusually shaped dwarf galaxy toward the edge of their image.
LEDA 074886, a rare, rectangular-shaped galaxy. North is up and East is left. NGC 1407 is located
approximately 50 kpc to the NW.
This dwarf galaxy has an absolute R-band magnitude of -17.3 mag and an embedded, edge-on stellar disk
(of extent 2R_{e,disk} = 12 arcsec = 1.2 kpc). Credits: Subaru/NAOJ
Professor Alister Graham (Swinburne University of Technology, Australia), lead author of the paper describing
the research, said, "It's one of those things that just makes you smile because it shouldn't exist, or rather,
you don't expect it to exist."
The discovery allows astronomers to obtain useful information for modeling other galaxies.
Most galaxies in the universe around us exist in one of three forms: ellipsoidal, disk-like (usually in the
shape of a flattened circular disk hosting a spiral pattern of stars), or irregular.
Dwarf galaxies, probably the most common galaxies in the Universe, are small and have low intrinsic brightness
(i.e., luminosity).
One of the reasons that LEDA 074886 was hard to find is its dwarf-like status; it has 50 times
less stars than our own Milky Way Galaxy, and its distance from Earth is equivalent to that spanned by 700 Milky
Way galaxies placed end-to-end.
The combined advantages of Subaru's large 8.2m primary mirror and its camera at
prime focus gave the researchers such a wide field of view that they could observe objects beyond their intended
targets and make the surprising discovery of the emerald-shaped dwarf galaxy.
Additional information gleaned from the use of green, red, and infrared filters along with the good image quality
seeing in the observation enabled the researchers to see and measure a stellar disk embedded within the rectangular-shaped galaxy.
False-color image of LEDA 074886 taken with Subaru Telescope's Suprime-Cam.
The central contrast has been adjusted to reveal the inner disk/bar-like component.
Dr. Lee Spitler (Swinburne University of Technology, Australia) took this image.
The blue color of the inner disk suggested a younger average age for this stellar population.
The astronomers suspect that the emerald-cut galaxy may resemble an inflated disk seen side-on, like a short cylinder.
Research co-author Professor Duncan Forbes (Swinburne University of Technology, Australia) explained,
"One possibility is that the galaxy may have formed out of the collision of two spiral galaxies.
While the pre-existing stars from the initial galaxies were strewn to large orbits creating the emerald-cut shape, the
gas sank to the mid-plane where it condensed to form new stars and the disk that we have observed."
Despite its apparent uniqueness, partly due to its chance orientation, the team has gathered useful information
for modeling other galaxies.
While the outer rectangular shape is somewhat like galaxy simulations that don't involve the production of new
stars, the disk-like structure is comparable with simulations involving star formation.
"This highlights the importance of combining lessons learned from both types of past simulations, for better
understanding of galaxy evolution," says Professor Graham.
When our own disk-shaped Milky Way Galaxy collides with the disk-shaped Andromeda Galaxy in about three billion
years from now, we may become inhabitants of a rectangular looking galaxy.
Abnormal Star Discovered In The 'Forbidden Zone'
A team of astrophysicists from Germany, France and Italy have discovered in the constellation Leo is an old star.
The star's existence raised at once many questions for scientists.
The object is definitely not as its "contemporaries" that appeared immediately after the Big Bang event.
Thermonuclear Burning In A Neutron Star Detected For The First Time!
It's a very important discovery!
For the first time, an international team of scientists have detected all phases of thermonuclear burning in a
neutron star, located close to the center of the galaxy in the globular cluster Terzan 5.
Alcubierre Warp Drive - A Doomsday Weapon?
Is the Alcubierre warp drive a doomsday weapon or our passport to the Universe?
The Alcubierre warp drive is a theoretical tool that would allow for spacecraft to travel long distances in space rapidly,
by deforming the space-time continuum in a bubble around the spaceship...
Gigantic Icebergs Floating In Space
The origin of Earth's water is hotly debated. New discoveries suggest that our planet's seas could once have been giant icebergs floating through space.
The reason why it remains unclear how our oceans were created is because our planet formed at such high temperatures that any original water must have evaporated.
Spectacular Star Cluster Messier 9 At Milky Way Center
This ball of stars is too faint to see with the naked eye, yet Hubble can see over 250 000 individual stars shining in it.
Messier 9, pictured here, is a globular cluster, a roughly spherical swarm of stars that lies around 25 000 light-years from Earth,
near the centre of the Milky Way, so close that the gravitational forces from the galactic centre pull it slightly out of shape.
Bright Star In The Constellation Lyra Is Cooler Than The Human Body
The coldest class of stars have temperatures as cool as the human body.
Astronomers hunted these dark orbs, termed Y dwarfs, for more than a decade without success.
When viewed with a visible-light telescope, they are nearly impossible to see.
Is The Universe Infinite?
Explore the biggest question of all. How far do the stars stretch out into space? What's beyond them?
In modern times, we built giant telescopes that have allowed us to cast our gaze deep into the universe. Astronomers have
been able to look back to near the time of its birth. They've reconstructed the course of cosmic history in astonishing detail.
Near-Miss Asteroid 2012 DA14 Returns Next Year
This time, the asteroid is going to miss our planet, but it comes back next year.
When it whizzes past Earth in 2013, a newly discovered asteroid is going to miss our planet – but not by much.
The 50 m space rock is expected to come closer than many satellites, highlighting the growing need to keep watch on hazards from above.
Astronomical Mystery - Tremendous Explosion And Appearance Of Odd Rings
Twenty five years ago, on 1987 February 23, the brightest supernova of modern times was observed in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
The collision occurred at speeds near 60 million kilometers per hour and shock-heats the ring material causing it to glow.
Over time, astronomers have watched and waited for the expanding debris from this tremendous stellar explosion to crash into previously expelled material...
Doesn't Secret Dark Matter Exist?
The more scientists study dark matter they know lesser and are not particularly optimistic about their results.
After completing this study, we know less about dark matter than we did before," said Matt Walker, of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.
A mysterious and still unknown substance is totally invisible in the Universe and reveals its presence only through its gravitational pull...
Dwarf Irregular Galaxy That Forces Scientists To Re-Evaluate Old Theory
Astronomers from Center for Astrophysics of the University of Porto, Portugal and Oskar Klein Centre, Stockholm University, Sweden come up
with new findings regarding one of the most studied objects - the dwarf galaxy I Zw 18.
The results led the scientists to the conclusion that this enigmatic blue compact dwarf might force
astronomers to review current galaxy formation models and much of what is known about galaxy formation and evolution might need substantial revision.
MessageToEagle.com - Astronomers from Australia, Germany, Switzerland, and Finland— report the discovery
of an interesting and rare, rectangular-shaped galaxy located at a distance of 21 Mpc.
A team of astrophysicists from Germany, France and Italy have discovered in the constellation Leo is an old star.
The star's existence raised at once many questions for scientists.
The object is definitely not as its "contemporaries" that appeared immediately after the Big Bang event.
It's a very important discovery!
For the first time, an international team of scientists have detected all phases of thermonuclear burning in a
neutron star, located close to the center of the galaxy in the globular cluster Terzan 5.
Is the Alcubierre warp drive a doomsday weapon or our passport to the Universe?
The Alcubierre warp drive is a theoretical tool that would allow for spacecraft to travel long distances in space rapidly,
by deforming the space-time continuum in a bubble around the spaceship...
The origin of Earth's water is hotly debated. New discoveries suggest that our planet's seas could once have been giant icebergs floating through space.
The reason why it remains unclear how our oceans were created is because our planet formed at such high temperatures that any original water must have evaporated.
This ball of stars is too faint to see with the naked eye, yet Hubble can see over 250 000 individual stars shining in it.
Messier 9, pictured here, is a globular cluster, a roughly spherical swarm of stars that lies around 25 000 light-years from Earth,
near the centre of the Milky Way, so close that the gravitational forces from the galactic centre pull it slightly out of shape.
The coldest class of stars have temperatures as cool as the human body.
Astronomers hunted these dark orbs, termed Y dwarfs, for more than a decade without success.
When viewed with a visible-light telescope, they are nearly impossible to see.
Explore the biggest question of all. How far do the stars stretch out into space? What's beyond them?
In modern times, we built giant telescopes that have allowed us to cast our gaze deep into the universe. Astronomers have
been able to look back to near the time of its birth. They've reconstructed the course of cosmic history in astonishing detail.
This time, the asteroid is going to miss our planet, but it comes back next year.
Twenty five years ago, on 1987 February 23, the brightest supernova of modern times was observed in the Large Magellanic Cloud.
The more scientists study dark matter they know lesser and are not particularly optimistic about their results.
Astronomers from Center for Astrophysics of the University of Porto, Portugal and Oskar Klein Centre, Stockholm University, Sweden come up
with new findings regarding one of the most studied objects - the dwarf galaxy I Zw 18.