Astronomers Discover 49 New Galaxies In Under Three Hours
Arthur T Knackerbracket has processed the following story:
An international team of astronomers has discovered 49 new gas-rich galaxies using the MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa. Their research is published in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Dr. Marcin Glowacki, from the Curtin University node of the International Center for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) in Western Australia, led the research, which aimed to study the star-forming gas in a single radio galaxy. Although the team didn't find any star-forming gas in the galaxy they were studying, Dr. Glowacki instead discovered other galaxies while inspecting the data.
[...] Three galaxies are directly connected by their gas.
Dr. Glowacki said, "These three are particularly interesting, as by studying the galaxies at other wavelengths of light, we discovered the central galaxy is forming many stars. It is likely stealing the gas from its companion galaxies to fuel its star formation, which may lead the other two to become inactive."
More information: Marcin Glowacki et al, A serendipitous discovery of HI-rich galaxy groups with MeerKAT, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society (2024). DOI: 10.1093/mnras/stae684
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