Current theories might be wrong about how a galaxy evolvesJune 24, 2017 - 12:09 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - With the help of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, researchers made a surprising discovery that goes against what we thought we knew about old galaxies and how they evolve, Engadget said. Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is a disk-shaped spiral galaxy. Typical of this shape of galaxy, the Milky Way's stars move around with predictable regularity and new stars are being formed throughout. From astronomers' observations, older galaxies that have stopped producing stars take on an elliptical shape with star motions that are unpredictable, different from the Milky Way and other younger galaxies. However, scientists recently got a look at the MACS2129-1 galaxy, a "dead" galaxy that stopped making stars billions of years ago. But instead of being the expected elliptical shape, it was a flat disk much like the Milky Way. It's half the size of our galaxy, but three times as massive and spinning twice as fast. Researchers were able to see this galaxy by combining the power of the Hubble telescope with gravitational lensing -- a process by which the gravity of massive celestial objects like galaxies can magnify and stretch light from objects behind them, creating a lens. A galaxy cluster lying between us and MACS2129-1 served as the gravitational lens in this case, allowing scientists to look deep inside the dead galaxy. Now researchers have to figure out how dead disk-shaped galaxies evolve into elliptical ones, and the answer could be mergers. The merging of multiple galaxies could shuffle the star motions and plump out the shape of the resulting galaxy, Engadget said. Researchers hope to use NASA's upcoming James Webb Space Telescope to find more examples of this type of dead galaxy. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Scholz hopes Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty will be signed this year German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hopes that a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be signed this year. Ucom equips four bus stops in Ijevan with free Wi-Fi Ucom now provides free Wi-Fi coverage in smart bus stops in four communities of Ijevan. Armenia, Russia discuss life extension of Metsamor nuclear plant Issues regarding the extension of life of the 2nd power unit of the Armenian Nuclear Power Plant were discussed in Yerevan. Armenians stage more campaigns against territorial concessions to Azerbaijan Protesters blocked more roads across Armenia on Friday, April 26 in continuing attempts to scuttle territorial concessions to Azerbaijan. |