Hubble reveals chains of hundreds of star clusters resulting from galactic collisions

the Astronomy scientistsAstronomy scientists We have known for more than half a century that there are strange pairs of galaxies that form amazing structures with types of stellar filaments in particular. Many of these galaxies have been thoroughly researched and are referenced in two catalogs of specific galaxies, the most famous of which is undoubtedly the American astronomer Halton Arp. to'Atlas of alien galaxiesalso known as the Arp Atlas, lists 338 mapped galaxies and was first published by California Institute of Technology In 1966.

There's another one like Catalog of southernsouthern Galaxies and strange associationsalso known as the Arp-Madore catalog, was published by American astronomers Halton C. Arp and Barry F. Madore in 1987. For example, we find the case of the galaxy AM 1054-325.

Galaxy Collisions has been on PC for over 50 years

Since the beginning of the seventies, AstrophysicistsAstrophysicists Americans of Estonian descent Alar Tomri His brother Juri Tomri demonstrated the use of simulation in ComputerComputer By involving nearby gravitational interactions, we can reproduce the shapes of many of the galaxies identified in the ARP catalogues Collisions with the merger of two large galaxies. This clearly explains the existence of what we call tidal tails, i.e. filaments and streams of stars torn apart by gravitational tidal forces between galaxies.

A 2008 Hubble press release revealed 59 images of galactic interactions. However, each image captures only one moment in a billion-year collision process. This video shows several visualizations of supercomputer simulations of galaxy collisions. They show the complete collision sequence and compare the different stages of the collision for the different pairs of interacting galaxies observed by Hubble. The two spiral galaxies in each simulation twist, spiral and merge, matching different images at different times and from different viewing angles. Through this combination of research simulations and high-resolution observations, these giant accidents can be clarified and better understood. © Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI), NASA

We continue to study these objects and phenomena through modern simulations but also through observations with telescopes like Hubble. Several organizations have just published a press release online about an article you published Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society A freely accessible version can be found at arXiv.

Researchers turned their attention from HubbleHubble In the direction of 12 tidal tails associated with seven galaxy collisions. If the main bodies of merging galaxies have been well studied, this is not yet the case for torn-up star streams, although they have been researched for decades.

Necklaces of clustered pearls extending thousands of light years away

When galaxies collide, the distances between the stars always remain such that they do not collide with themselves, as he described EquationsEquations Subordinate GasGas Without collision. But it is not the same for cloudsclouds Large molecular and dust particles in galaxies, especially their arms Spiral galaxiesSpiral galaxies. Thus, shock waves are produced when these clouds collide, causing them to compress and begin the formation processCollapsesCollapses Gravitational fragmentation eventually led to massive clusters of young stars.

Hubble is now also seeing such clusters in tidal tails, clusters that can contain up to a million stars. They are scattered like pearls on a necklace along the tidal tails. Astrophysicists have identified a total of 425 of them. It is easy to date young star clusters as we learned to do at OCA DUAO. In this case, the clusters are only 10 million years old. They therefore appear to form at the same rate along tails extending over thousands of yearsLight yearLight year.

It is not yet clear what these massive star clusters will become. They can remain gravitationally bound and thus become equivalent to ancient globular clusters It rotates in orbitIt rotates in orbit About the milky waymilky way Or even disperse as Open groupsOpen groups Classic young stars.