Astronomers have studied the composition and velocities of more than 500 stars in Andromeda, our closest galaxy, to trace their turbulent and tragic evolution.
Andromeda, located 2.5 million light-years from Earth, is the Milky Way’s closest major companion. It is assumed that they interacted with other galaxies and globular clusters, giving rise to features such as the giant stream of stars in Andromeda.
The researchers recently determined the different chemical compositions and movements of 556 red giant sub-stars in Andromeda’s northeastern shelf.
The team concluded that the shelves are tidal features – flows of stars and matter – formed from gravitational interactions with other galaxies, and are composed mostly of debris from the effects of these cosmic collisions.
“Together, this information acts as a kind of fingerprint that identifies which star joined the galaxy in the collision,” he added.
“Remnants from each collision can be identified by studying the motion of the stars and their chemical composition,” Ivana Escala, a postdoctoral researcher at the Carnegie Observatory in Pasadena, California, who was involved in the new research, said in a statement.
The researchers hope that studying this material flow will help scientists understand how galaxies acquire more material and can reveal the history, appearance and composition of galaxies and properties around them.
The results were presented June 13 at a meeting of the American Astronomical Society held in California.
News summary:
- Andromeda Galaxy shows catastrophic collision surgeon
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