The Hubble Space Telescope recorded the process of three galaxies in the constellation Bootes that were about to collide and merge into one huge bright galaxy. Photo/ESA/NASA
The image shows the three galaxies, collectively known as SDSSCGB 10189, fairly close together and soon merging. The shape of the galaxy has been distorted and strands of gas and dust can be seen connecting it. The three galaxies emit a lot of light.
Quoted from the Space page, Tuesday (21/2/2023), in SDSSCGB 10189, three large star-forming galaxies are only 50,000 light years away from each other. While this may seem like a great distance and cause little harm, in cosmic terms it is actually very close.
Also read; The Hubble Telescope Captures Images of Two Colliding Galaxies
For example, Andromeda, the closest galaxy to our Milky Way, is more than 2.5 million light years from the sun. Stunning new images from the Hubble Space Telescope show the three galaxies soon colliding and merging.
The new Hubble Space Telescope image is part of an investigation into the origins of the universe’s largest and most massive galaxies. Astronomers call it the Brightest Cluster Galaxies (BCGs).
BCG forms when large galaxies swallow smaller galaxies or when gas-rich galaxies, such as this trio of galaxies collide and merge. Such galaxy clusters can be used to track the formation of galaxy clusters, which are enormous cosmic structures composed of hundreds or even thousands of galaxies.
Scientists also hope that BCG can provide clues about the evolution of the so-called “cosmic web”. The tangled structures of clumps and filaments of matter formed by dark matter that connect individual galaxies in a cluster.
Also read; First Image of a Black Hole in the Milky Way Galaxy Finally Recorded
There is still controversy around the BCG and when in the 13.8 billion year history of the universe they formed. Some astronomers think that this massive bright galaxy formed in the early epochs of the universe when it was about 19% of its present age.
Others think BCG is still being formed and growing today. The merger of SDSSCGB 10189 could result in the birth of BCG and could shed light on the mystery of how and when this massive bright galaxy formed.
(wib)
