Galaxy Violence is topic of Natural Science Lecture
Matthew Laurinec
Issue date: 10/27/09 Section: News
Professor Chris Mihos from Case Western Reserve University gave a lecture on "The Violent Lives of Galaxies: Collisions, Mergers, and Galactic Wreckage" as a part of the Natural Science Colloquium this past Friday.
There are plenty of galaxies that can be seen in the night sky-- usually the galaxies are in pairs but sometimes can be seen in groups. Galaxies are believed to have a hierarchal growth of structure, where masses are often coming together.
Computer simulations can give scientists an idea of what happens when the galaxies collide. The galaxies go through each other creating "tidal tails" of gas and dust, and then emerge into a single galaxy. The tidal tails are used to figure out exactly how the collision happened.
There are three possible outcomes of galactic collisions. The first outcome is known as starburst galaxies, this is where stars pass through the galaxies without colliding into each other even though the galaxies are colliding. The clouds of gas when they hit each other and the energy emitted can create new stars. The second outcome is known active galaxies where the center of the galaxy is a black hole and the collision can make objects fall through it as the galaxies are colliding. The third outcome is known as transformation where during the collision of the galaxies they create tails of gas. As an example, by taking two spiral galaxies that collide, they can transform into an elliptical galaxy. This concept brings a new possibility to the creation of galaxies, whereas before galaxies were considered to be born in a specific shape.
The collisions start with two spiral galaxies, where the tails are created through the collision, and transform into an elliptical galaxy. During the collision, photons and energy is emitted and this information can be used to calculate how fast the gas was moving. Simulations are used to look at how the galaxy forms and what the galaxy will look like in the future. The process of galaxies colliding and creating a new galaxy takes billions of years.
There are plenty of galaxies that can be seen in the night sky-- usually the galaxies are in pairs but sometimes can be seen in groups. Galaxies are believed to have a hierarchal growth of structure, where masses are often coming together.
Computer simulations can give scientists an idea of what happens when the galaxies collide. The galaxies go through each other creating "tidal tails" of gas and dust, and then emerge into a single galaxy. The tidal tails are used to figure out exactly how the collision happened.
There are three possible outcomes of galactic collisions. The first outcome is known as starburst galaxies, this is where stars pass through the galaxies without colliding into each other even though the galaxies are colliding. The clouds of gas when they hit each other and the energy emitted can create new stars. The second outcome is known active galaxies where the center of the galaxy is a black hole and the collision can make objects fall through it as the galaxies are colliding. The third outcome is known as transformation where during the collision of the galaxies they create tails of gas. As an example, by taking two spiral galaxies that collide, they can transform into an elliptical galaxy. This concept brings a new possibility to the creation of galaxies, whereas before galaxies were considered to be born in a specific shape.
The collisions start with two spiral galaxies, where the tails are created through the collision, and transform into an elliptical galaxy. During the collision, photons and energy is emitted and this information can be used to calculate how fast the gas was moving. Simulations are used to look at how the galaxy forms and what the galaxy will look like in the future. The process of galaxies colliding and creating a new galaxy takes billions of years.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Professional writing service
posted 12/26/09 @ 6:16 AM EST
It is an important research.
Post a Comment