The Galaxy feeds the small

2003/11/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Astronomia

(Photo: ANDÉN, ESA).

Although the Hubble telescope pictured the Tadpole galaxy predominates, very close to the left, a small, bright galaxy directly related to it appears. However, no significant data on this link was obtained from the photograph taken last year by Hubble. They continued researching and using the Keck telescope in Hawaii saw the movement of stars around the large galaxy.

According to astronomers, the relationship between these two cosmic objects consists in feeding large galaxies to a much smaller galaxy. This galactic couple is two billion light years from Earth.

The small galaxy moves away from the gravity forces of Tadpole and the stars of the small galaxy disperse forming an annular sphere around the large galaxy.

Scientists suspected that galaxies fed each other, but this is the first time images related to this phenomenon are obtained.