Comet Galaxy
Encyclopedia
The Comet Galaxy is a spiral galaxy
located 3.2 billion light-years from Earth
, in the galaxy cluster Abell 2667
, was found with the Hubble Space Telescope
. This galaxy has a little more mass than our Milky Way
. It was detected on 2nd March of 2007.
Abell 2667
and thereby like a comet
shows a tail
with a length of 600,000 light years
.
and Sun
push and pull the Earth's ocean
s. Also contributing to this destructive process is the pressure of the cluster's hot gas plasma reaching temperatures as high as 10-100 million degrees. Scientists estimate that the total duration of the transformation process is close to one billion years. What is seen now in the Hubble image is roughly 200 million years into the process.Even though the Comet Galaxy’s mass is slightly greater than the Milky Way, it will lose all its gas and dust, and so not be able to generate stars later in life. It will become a gas-poor galaxy with an old population of red stars.
During the ram pressure
stripping process, the charged particle
]s strip and push away the infalling galaxy’s gas, just as the solar wind of charged particles pushes ionized gas away from a comet to create a gas tail. For this reason the scientists have nicknamed the stretched spiral the "comet galaxy."
"This unique galaxy, situated 3.2 billion light-years from Earth, has an extended stream of bright blue knots and diffuse wisps of young stars driven away by the tidal forces and the ram pressure stripping' of the hot dense gas," said Jean-Paul Kneib, a study collaborator from the Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille.
Even though its mass is slightly larger than that of the Milky Way, the spiral will inevitably lose all its gas and dust as well as its chance of generating new stars later, and become a gas-poor galaxy with an old population of red stars. The finding sheds light on the process by which gas-rich galaxies might evolve into gas-poor galaxies over billions of years. The new observations also reveal one mechanism for forming of “homeless” stars seen scattered throughout galaxy clusters.
The strong gravitational pull exerted by the galaxy cluster's collective mass has bent the light of other, more distant galaxies and distorted their shapes - an effect called gravitational lens
ing. The giant bright banana-shaped arc seen just to the left of the cluster centre corresponds to the magnified
and distorted
image of a distant galaxy that lies behind the cluster's core.
Spiral galaxy
A spiral galaxy is a certain kind of galaxy originally described by Edwin Hubble in his 1936 work The Realm of the Nebulae and, as such, forms part of the Hubble sequence. Spiral galaxies consist of a flat, rotating disk containing stars, gas and dust, and a central concentration of stars known as...
located 3.2 billion light-years from Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
, in the galaxy cluster Abell 2667
Abell 2667
Abell 2667 is a galaxy cluster. It is one of the most luminous galaxy clusters in the X-ray waveband known at redshift about 0.2.This cluster is also a well-known gravitational lens....
, was found with the Hubble Space Telescope
Hubble Space Telescope
The Hubble Space Telescope is a space telescope that was carried into orbit by a Space Shuttle in 1990 and remains in operation. A 2.4 meter aperture telescope in low Earth orbit, Hubble's four main instruments observe in the near ultraviolet, visible, and near infrared...
. This galaxy has a little more mass than our Milky Way
Milky Way
The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains the Solar System. This name derives from its appearance as a dim un-resolved "milky" glowing band arching across the night sky...
. It was detected on 2nd March of 2007.
Structure
The unique galaxy, which is situated 3.2 billion light-years from the Earth, has an extended stream of bright blue knots and diffuse wisps of young stars. This spiral galaxy rushes with 3.5 million km/h through the clusterGalaxy cluster
A galaxy cluster is a compact cluster of galaxies. Basic difference between a galaxy group and a galaxy cluster is that there are many more galaxies in a cluster than in a group. Also, galaxies in a cluster are more compact and have higher velocity dispersion. One of the key features of cluster is...
Abell 2667
Abell 2667
Abell 2667 is a galaxy cluster. It is one of the most luminous galaxy clusters in the X-ray waveband known at redshift about 0.2.This cluster is also a well-known gravitational lens....
and thereby like a comet
Comet
A comet is an icy small Solar System body that, when close enough to the Sun, displays a visible coma and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena are both due to the effects of solar radiation and the solar wind upon the nucleus of the comet...
shows a tail
Comet tail
A comet tail and coma are illuminated by the Sun and may become visible from Earth when a comet passes through the inner Solar System, the dust reflecting sunlight directly and the gases glowing from ionisation...
with a length of 600,000 light years
Light Years
Light Years is the seventh studio album by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue. It was released on 25 September 2000 by Parlophone and Mushroom Records. The album's style was indicative of her return to "mainstream pop dance tunes"....
.
Galaxy fate
The comet galaxy is currently being ripped to pieces. Moving through a cluster at speeds of greater than 2 million mph, is one of the main reasons the gas and stars of the galaxy are being stripped away by the tidal forces of the cluster. Other factors adding to the damage of the galaxy are the cluster's scorching gas plasma. As the galaxy speeds through, its gas and stars are being stripped away by the tidal forces exerted by the cluster - just as the tidal forces exerted by the moonMoon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
and Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
push and pull the Earth's ocean
Ocean
An ocean is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.More than half of this area is over 3,000...
s. Also contributing to this destructive process is the pressure of the cluster's hot gas plasma reaching temperatures as high as 10-100 million degrees. Scientists estimate that the total duration of the transformation process is close to one billion years. What is seen now in the Hubble image is roughly 200 million years into the process.Even though the Comet Galaxy’s mass is slightly greater than the Milky Way, it will lose all its gas and dust, and so not be able to generate stars later in life. It will become a gas-poor galaxy with an old population of red stars.
During the ram pressure
Ram pressure
In physics, ram pressure is a pressure exerted on a body which is moving through a fluid medium. It causes a strong drag force to be exerted on the body. It is given by:P= \rho v^2...
stripping process, the charged particle
Charged particle
In physics, a charged particle is a particle with an electric charge. It may be either a subatomic particle or an ion. A collection of charged particles, or even a gas containing a proportion of charged particles, is called a plasma, which is called the fourth state of matter because its...
]s strip and push away the infalling galaxy’s gas, just as the solar wind of charged particles pushes ionized gas away from a comet to create a gas tail. For this reason the scientists have nicknamed the stretched spiral the "comet galaxy."
"This unique galaxy, situated 3.2 billion light-years from Earth, has an extended stream of bright blue knots and diffuse wisps of young stars driven away by the tidal forces and the ram pressure stripping' of the hot dense gas," said Jean-Paul Kneib, a study collaborator from the Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille.
Even though its mass is slightly larger than that of the Milky Way, the spiral will inevitably lose all its gas and dust as well as its chance of generating new stars later, and become a gas-poor galaxy with an old population of red stars. The finding sheds light on the process by which gas-rich galaxies might evolve into gas-poor galaxies over billions of years. The new observations also reveal one mechanism for forming of “homeless” stars seen scattered throughout galaxy clusters.
The strong gravitational pull exerted by the galaxy cluster's collective mass has bent the light of other, more distant galaxies and distorted their shapes - an effect called gravitational lens
Gravitational lens
A gravitational lens refers to a distribution of matter between a distant source and an observer, that is capable of bending the light from the source, as it travels towards the observer...
ing. The giant bright banana-shaped arc seen just to the left of the cluster centre corresponds to the magnified
Magnification
Magnification is the process of enlarging something only in appearance, not in physical size. This enlargement is quantified by a calculated number also called "magnification"...
and distorted
Distortion
A distortion is the alteration of the original shape of an object, image, sound, waveform or other form of information or representation. Distortion is usually unwanted, and often many methods are employed to minimize it in practice...
image of a distant galaxy that lies behind the cluster's core.