For the first time, astronomers have identified and mapped the distribution of water in galaxy way back when the universe was still a teenager.
No molecular. Credit: SISSA.
Water is an essential component for the growth and development of life as we know it on Earth. Therefore, when looking for other potential life beyond Earth or on planet On the other hand, the main criterion is the presence of water. And of course not just water. Water can be found in the form, solid or ice, as well as in the form of water vapor or gas. In search of life, the water we melt in liquid form on the surface of the planet.
This time, astronomers are looking for the presence of water and its distribution within the galaxy. More specifically, astronomers want to know the distribution of water and how it changes from ice or solid to gas, namely water vapor. This is important as a marker of areas that experience increased energy to indicate the location of formation bintang and black hole.
In short, if there is moisture, then something important is happening in that area.
Galaxy J1135
Astronomers from the Scuola Internazionale Superiore in Studi Avanzati, Italy, used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) radio telescope to search for water in distant galaxies.
Galaxy J1135. This is the galaxy that was the target of observations with ALMA. This galaxy is 12 billion light years away. That means this galaxy was either quite young when it formed, or from our perspective as observers, it’s an old galaxy that formed when the Universe was still a teenager. At that time, the universe was only 1.8 billion years old.
As a result, these astronomers succeeded in making a map of the distribution of water in this distant galaxy. This map is important for understanding the processes that occur in the galaxy J1135 especially related to the dynamics around the star formation area, black holes and the galaxy itself.
Water is one of the components that can reveal the story of the physical processes in the galaxy. Water can be found in the form of ice in molecular clouds. This is a dense area of gas and dust that becomes the trough for the birth of new stars in the galaxy.
Water in Molecular Clouds
Within a molecular cloud, water acts as a cloak or mantle covering the surface of interstellar dust grains. This interstellar dust is the basic material for molecular clouds and the main catalyst for the formation of molecules in outer space. There are times when the calm within the cold molecular cloud is disturbed.
A collapse in a cloud that fuels star formation and releases heat, or a black hole that pulls in matter and releases energy. Radiation from stars and other sources inevitably heats water ice so that it sublimes into a gas, aka water vapor. When water vapor cools, this gas will emit infrared light in the spectrum. It is from the emission of water vapor in the spectrum that astronomers can map the areas of energy formation in galaxies and new insights about galaxy formation.
Astronomers combine this information about the distribution of water with maps of other molecules such as carbon monoxide that are used to study the same phenomena.
The formation of galaxies is also still a mystery. There are at least two theories of galaxy formation, namely the merging of small galaxies into large galaxies or galaxies formed from the formation of stars in direct locations.
Gravity Lens
Gravity lensing technique. Credit: NASA/JPL
Astronomers observe galaxy J1135 with engineering gravitational lensing. This technique allows astronomers to use a large object that is in line with the observer’s line of sight of galaxy J1135. Massive mass objects can be other galaxies or also galaxy cluster. Light from the J1135 galaxy that passes through a large-mass object will be bent and experience amplification. Thus astronomers can find out the existence of these distant galaxies.
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2023-07-24 05:34:23
#Map #Water #Distribution #Distant #Galaxies
