{"id":16965,"date":"2022-01-12T16:01:14","date_gmt":"2022-01-12T16:01:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/?p=16965"},"modified":"2022-01-12T16:01:14","modified_gmt":"2022-01-12T16:01:14","slug":"unique-globular-clusters-hold-answers-to-galaxy-evolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/unique-globular-clusters-hold-answers-to-galaxy-evolution\/16965\/","title":{"rendered":"Unique globular clusters may hold answers to galaxy evolution\u00a0\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"
The novel globular clusters were found during a survey of the\u00a0elliptical galaxy Centaurus A, which was\u00a0completed\u00a0utilising\u00a0a combination of ground and space-based telescopes. These observations led to a unique\u00a0breakthrough\u00a0in the in the outer regions of the galaxy:\u00a0a formerly undiscovered wealth\u00a0of globular clusters, which are\u00a0old,\u00a0concentrated\u00a0groups of thousands of stars that all formed\u00a0simultaneously.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The\u00a0team\u2019s findings\u00a0represent\u00a0a\u00a0considerable\u00a0advancement\u00a0in\u00a0our comprehension of\u00a0the architecture and cosmological history of this galaxy and\u00a0deliver\u00a0new insights into galaxy formation and the distribution of dark matter<\/a> in the\u00a0Universe.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Centaurus A, also known as NGC 5128, is an\u00a0elliptical galaxy\u00a0showcasing\u00a0a relativistic jet spewing from a supermassive black hole at its\u00a0centre\u00a0and\u00a0magnificent\u00a0streams of\u00a0dispersed\u00a0stars left behind by past collisions and mergers with smaller galaxies orbiting Centaurus A.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Situated\u00a0in the constellation Centaurus,\u00a013\u00a0million light-years from Earth, Centaurus A is too far away\u00a0for\u00a0astronomers to\u00a0visualise\u00a0specific\u00a0stars, but star clusters can be\u00a0detected\u00a0and\u00a0employed\u00a0as\u00a0\u2018fossil evidence\u2019\u00a0of the galaxy’s\u00a0turbulent\u00a0evolution.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The researchers\u00a0have exhibited\u00a0a\u00a0novel\u00a0catalogue\u00a0of\u00a0roughly\u00a040,000\u00a0globular cluster candidates in Centaurus A,\u00a0suggesting\u00a0follow-up observations\u00a0centred\u00a0on a set of 1,900 that are\u00a0the\u00a0most\u00a0probable\u00a0true globular clusters.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The\u00a0team\u00a0examined\u00a0globular cluster candidates out to a projected radius of approximately 150 kiloparsecs,\u00a0nearly half\u00a0a million light-years from the galaxy’s\u00a0centre. The data\u00a0merges\u00a0observations from\u00a0a number of\u00a0sources\u00a0including\u00a0the Panoramic Imaging Survey of Centaurus and Sculptor, or\u00a0PISCeS; Gaia, a space observatory of the European Space Agency, and the NOAO Source\u00a0Catalog.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Centaurus A has been\u00a0the\u00a0foremost\u00a0target for extragalactic globular cluster studies\u00a0as a result of\u00a0its\u00a0prosperity\u00a0and\u00a0relative closeness\u00a0to Earth, but thus far most\u00a0studies have\u00a0been fixated\u00a0on the inner 40 kiloparsecs (about 130,500 light-years) of the galaxy, Hughes explained, leaving the outer\u00a0regions\u00a0of the galaxy\u00a0mostly\u00a0uncharted.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nUnderstanding galaxy evolution<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n
Centaurus A<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n
Studying the galaxy’s outer regions<\/h3>\n