| Title | Trans-Galactic Streamers Feeding Most Luminous Galaxy in the Universe | |
| Date | Sunday November 18 2018, @05:11AM | |
| Author | mrpg | |
| Topic | ||
| from the dinner-time dept. | ||
Submitted via IRC for Bytram
Trans-galactic streamers feeding most luminous galaxy in the universe
The most luminous galaxy ever discovered is cannibalizing not one, not two, but at least three of its smaller neighbors, according to a new study published today (Nov. 15) in the journal Science and coauthored by scientists from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The material that the galaxy is stealing from its neighbors is likely contributing to its uber-brightness, the study shows.
[...] "It is possible that this feeding frenzy has already been ongoing for some time, and we expect the galactic feast to continue for at least a few hundred million years," said Tanio Diaz-Santos of the Universidad Diego Portales in Santiago, Chile, lead author of the study.
[...] This kind of galactic cannibalism is not uncommon. Astronomers have previously observed galaxies merging with or accreting matter from their neighbors in the nearby universe. For example, the pair of galaxies collectively known as "the Mice" are so named because each has a long, thin tail of accreting material stretching away from it.
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