The mysterious awakening of stars triggered by tiny galaxies set up to collide with the Milky Way may be about to unravel the mystery of dark matter.
The stellar path, located outside the star’s spiral arm of the Milky Way’s central disk in an area known as the galactic radius, is moving with the cosmic currents of dwarf galaxies in orbit around the Milky Way, according to new data. Sky maps created by astronomers.
A galaxy called the Great Magellanic Cloud (LMC) is orbiting away from world And awakening of the cosmic material behind At first glance, the LMC̵7;s path appears to be composed of only stars. But researchers know the stars are ready for their journey. They are suspended in a larger place and are completely invisible.
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Astronomers are interested in this space ripple because they think it can be created. Dark matter – The mysterious, unluminous matter that makes up most of the matter in the universe. The predictions say that dark matter, which is invisible and only interacts with matter that we can see by means of gravity, should prevail in the galaxy’s radius.
“We think this awakening is composed of dark matter and it drags stars along, which is the way we can detect it,” said Nicolás Garavito-Camargo. Study co-author, PhD student at the University of Arizona. Said in a statement.
The gravitational influence of dark matter can be observed throughout the universe: it is the critical scaffold of our galaxy, holding stars and planets with it so that it does not fly off as the galaxy spins. Yet, what dark matter is or how it behaves remains one of astronomy’s greatest mysteries. The researchers hope that by studying the awakening, they will be able to study the dark matter they believe is the most
If the awakening stars are like leaves floating on a dark matter pond, the way the leaves are disturbed by ships. (In this case, the LMC) can tell us a lot about the well itself.
“You can imagine how the awakening of a ship would be different if a ship was passing through water or through honey,” said lead author Charlie Conroy, a Harvard professor of astronomy. “In this case, the properties of awakening will be determined by the dark matter theory we apply.”
The group used new maps and awakening locations to confirm theoretical models created by other researchers for the distribution of dark matter across the galactic radius. They are now testing to see which theories about dark matter best suit waking shapes and positions.
The map, created with data from NASA Telescopes and the European Space Agency (ESA), also provides important insights into the violent future of our home galaxy as the LMC orbits the Milky Way, gravity from dark matter. The Milky Way’s galactic radius will slow it down, sending the LMC into smaller and smaller orbits.The LMC will continue to roll closer to the Milky Way until the two collide in about 2 billion years.
The merging of two galaxies is a surprisingly common occurrence across the universe. The Milky Way was likely merged with smaller galaxies 8 billion years ago, and galactic integration is the prime reason for all large galaxies to grow.
“Plundering the energy of smaller galaxies is not only But that’s why the LMC is only integrated into the Milky Way. But also why all galaxies happen, said study co-author Rohan Naidu, a graduate student at Harvard University. “The awakening of our maps is a solid confirmation of what our fundamental image for galaxy integration is like.
The researchers published their findings April 21 in the journal. nature.
Originally published in Live Science.