Close-up of the 'bull's eye' of the universe
Fifty million years ago, two galaxies collided in space. The smaller object, a blue dwarf, hurtled through the center of the giant, creating a bull's-eye that spanned 250,000 light-years.
For comparison, the width of our Milky Way galaxy is about 100,000 light years.
Astronomers used the Hubble telescope to identify eight rings of the galaxy LEDA 1313424, and the remaining ring was confirmed thanks to data obtained from the WM Keck Observatory in Hawaii (USA).
The Milky Way (left) and the Bull's Eye Galaxy
Previous observations of other galaxies in the universe showed that the maximum number of rings stopped at only 2 or 3.
"This is a serendipitous discovery," nasa.gov quoted Imad Pasha, research team leader and Yale University graduate student, as saying on February 4.
“I was looking at ground-based imagery and noticed a galaxy with several rings. I was immediately drawn to it,” she said. The team later nicknamed the galaxy “Bull’s Eye.”
Subsequent observations with the Hubble Space Telescope and the Keck Observatory allowed the identification of the other galaxy that had penetrated the "Bull's Eye." It was a blue dwarf galaxy, now about 130,000 light-years away from LEDA 1313424.
Co-author Pieter G. van Dokkum, a professor at Yale University, said the team was lucky to discover the Bull's Eye galaxy at a time when many rings appeared after a collision with another galaxy.
The blue dwarf galaxy LEDA 1313424's radial journey has pushed things aside, creating new regions that allow stars to form.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/phat-hien-thien-ha-9-vong-nhieu-nhat-tu-truoc-den-nay-185250205104800498.htm
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