2024-01-16 05:00:07
In a surprising and unexpected discovery, a team of astronomers has uncovered a dark galaxy, named J0613+52, filled with intact primordial gas and without visible stars. This chance find occurred while the Telescope Green Bank (GBT), located in West Virginia, was mistakenly pointed to incorrect coordinates. There scientist Principal of the Green Bank Observatory, Karen O’Neil, said that this galaxy is composed only of gaz, with no visible presence of stars, although they may exist. Artistic representation of the hydrogen gas observed in the galaxy J0613+52. The colors indicate the probable rotation of the gas relative to the observer (red: moving away, bleu: approximate). This image was created using a champ of stars from STScI POSS-II with additional illustration by NSF/GBO/P.Vosteen.
J0613+52 is not located billions of light years away, but about 270 million light years from Earth. What makes it particularly intriguing is its primordial gas composition, primarily hydrogen andheliumelements formed shortly after the Big Bang and which have not been enriched by star explosions.
This type of galaxy, known as a Low-Luminosity Galaxy, Surface (LSB), emits very little light per unit area, making them extremely difficult to detect. These galaxies often have a weak density of gas, which slows down star formation.
What sets J0613+52 apart is its extreme gas richness and apparent lack of star formation, despite its gaseous composition. It also appears to rotate like a classic spiral galaxy. Its discovery raises new questions about the formation and evolution of galaxies, and the potential existence of other similar LSB galaxies.
Karen O’Neil presented these findings at the 243rd meeting of the American Astronomical Society in New Orleans, Louisiana. The team suggests that deep observation in several lengths ofwhere could reveal more of these ultra-dark LSB galaxies, although their low gas density may make it difficult or impossible to observe them at other lengths.where than radio waves.
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