Astronomers discovered the galaxy was rotating when the Universe was young. Exactly 500 million years after the Big Bang. That means that the light we receive has been traveling for more than 13.2 billion years.
This ancient galaxy rotated very slowly when compared to today’s galaxies. Astronomers suspect that this ancient galaxy is in the process of gaining additional speed. Discoveries like these are crucial for astronomers to understand how galaxies evolve when they are “children” or just forming.
Like the Milky Way, most galaxies in the Universe today rotate about their center. But when the galaxy begins to rotate and how it rotates is still a question because when and how the rotation of the galaxy begins will affect its environment. Especially regarding the formation and evolution of stars, planets, and even life!
To find out if this ancient galaxy is rotating, a research team led by Tsuyoshi Tokuoka of Waseda University in Tokyo made observations with the ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array) radio telescope. They made observations for two months to study the galaxy JD1 (full name of this galaxy MACS1149-JD1)
JD1 is much smaller than the Milky Way. Our galaxy is 100,000 light years across, while JD1 is only 3,000 light years across. Of course, 3,000 light years is still huge. Especially if you have the idea of traveling at the speed of light to cross the JD1 galaxy from one edge to another.
JD1 also rotates much slower than the Milky Way. JD1 rotates at 50 kilometers per second or slightly faster than a meteor, while the Milky Way rotates at a speed of 220 kilometers per second or twice as fast as lightning!
Cool facts:
Currently the James Webb Space Telescope has begun to make scientific observations. Because of this, scientists are eager to see JD1 with the JWST telescope. The goal is to understand the formation of these galaxies.
Source: This article is a republished version of Space Scoop Universe Awareness Indonesian edition. Indonesian edition of Space Scoop translated by heaven.
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