The farther away an object is, the longer it takes its light to get to us, so, in a sense, the farther in the past we see it. The most distant objects we see are so far away that their light took nearly the age of the Universe to reach us, so we see them as they were when the Universe was very young.
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When we look at very distant galaxies (and therefore as they were when they were just getting started), we see that they are actually galaxy fragments: weird, distorted little things that are still growing. These fragments collide and merge with each other (further distorting their shapes for some time), eventually settling down into majestic elliptical and spiral galaxies like we see today. But, back then, they were still just irregular pieces.
The galaxy is called DLA0817g (nicknamed the Wolfe Galaxy, after the late Arthur Wolfe, an astronomer who was an advisor to several of the scientists who did this research), and it was observed with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array, a collection of dishes in Chile that observe light at much longer wavelengths than the human eye can see. It’s sensitive to light emitted by things like singly ionized carbon (that is, carbon atoms missing one electron) and cold carbon monoxide gas, both abundant in galaxies. It can measure the speed that gas is moving (which also tells you the mass of the galaxy), and clearly saw evidence of the disk in the galaxy rotating at 270 kilometers per second, about the speed you’d expect for a large, massive, settled galaxy not too unlike our own Milky Way.
Hubble observations of the Wolfe Galaxy showed it has regions in it blasting out ultraviolet light, which is a sure sign that lots of stars are forming — some of those stars are very massive, and emit copious UV. The amount implies the galaxy is making stars at a rate of at least 16 times our own galaxy, and it could be far higher (the galaxy is dusty, and that blocks UV light; other indicators imply a star formation rate of over a hundred times the Milky Way’s, which is a lot).
Traditional models of how disk galaxies form have a very difficult time producing such a galaxy. In those models gas falls into a forming galaxy, getting very hot, and shapes itself into a roughly spherical object that then cools and settles down into a disk. But that takes a several billion years, far longer than this galaxy has been around. Also, hot gas suppresses star formation, since the gas needs to cool before it can gather itself together to form nebulae and stars.
The astronomers who made these observations think that the galaxy grew in size by having cold gas falling into it. Instead of just slamming into the forming galaxy and heating up, it comes in at a rate the galaxy can assimilate, keeping it cooler. This idea has been gaining some traction in the past couple of decades.
Video of Wolfe Disk NRAO Press Release
But it has problems, too. Some of the gas may also come in as smaller, gas-rich dwarf galaxies merge with the bigger galaxy, too. But those are typically relatively violent events that heat the gas, making a cold disk hard to maintain. Clearly, there’s more to learn about this process.
An interesting point about how this galaxy was found: Normally, deep surveys of the sky find the brightest examples of things first, since those are the easiest to find. But in this case the Wolfe Galaxy was found by accident. Astronomers were looking at an even more distant galaxy called a quasar, and saw that its light was being absorbed by cool gas a little closer to us. They took a look and found that gas was a part of the Wolfe Galaxy. Since the galaxy is relatively faint, that means that there may be many more big, well-formed disk galaxies in the early Universe.
Now the fun part is finding more of them. We’ll need a lot more examples to understand all the processes that go into making galaxies like this. Was the Milky Way formed this way too? That would be a very interesting thing to know.
When we look into the distant Universe this way, we’re seeking the clues to our own past, which will inform us of how we got here. That’s one of the biggest questions we have, and I love that we’re finding the answers.
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The body of Ugandan Olympic athlete Rebecca Cheptegei — who died after being set on fire by her partner in Kenya — was received Friday by family and anti-femicide crusaders, ahead of her burial a day later.
Cheptegei’s family met with dozens of activists Friday who had marched to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital’s morgue in the western city of Eldoret while chanting anti-femicide slogans.
She is the fourth female athlete to have been killed by her partner in Kenya in yet another case of gender-based violence in recent years.
Viola Cheptoo, the founder of Tirop Angels – an organization that was formed in honor of athlete Agnes Tirop, who was stabbed to death in 2021, said stakeholders need to ensure this is the last death of an athlete due to gender-based violence.
“We are here to say that enough is enough, we are tired of burying our sisters due to GBV,” she said.
It was a somber mood at the morgue as athletes and family members viewed Cheptegei’s body which sustained 80% of burns after she was doused with gasoline by her partner Dickson Ndiema. Ndiema sustained 30% burns on his body and later succumbed.
Ndiema and Cheptegei were said to have quarreled over a piece of land that the athlete bought in Kenya, according to a report filed by the local chief.
Cheptegei competed in the women’s marathon at the Paris Olympics less than a month before the attack. She finished in 44th place.
Cheptegei’s father, Joseph, said that the body will make a brief stop at their home in the Endebess area before proceeding to Bukwo in eastern Uganda for a night vigil and burial on Saturday.
“We are in the final part of giving my daughter the last respect,” a visibly distraught Joseph said.
He told reporters last week that Ndiema was stalking and threatening Cheptegei and the family had informed police.
Four in 10 women or an estimated 41% of dating or married Kenyan women have experienced physical or sexual violence perpetrated by their current or most recent partner, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rare Bronze-Era jar accidentally smashed by a 4-year-old visiting a museum was back on display Wednesday after restoration experts were able to carefully piece the artifact back together.
Last month, a family from northern Israel was visiting the museum when their youngest son tipped over the jar, which smashed into pieces.
Alex Geller, the boy’s father, said his son — the youngest of three — is exceptionally curious, and that the moment he heard the crash, “please let that not be my child” was the first thought that raced through his head.
The jar has been on display at the Hecht Museum in Haifa for 35 years. It was one of the only containers of its size and from that period still complete when it was discovered.
The Bronze Age jar is one of many artifacts exhibited out in the open, part of the Hecht Museum’s vision of letting visitors explore history without glass barriers, said Inbal Rivlin, the director of the museum, which is associated with Haifa University in northern Israel.
It was likely used to hold wine or oil, and dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C.
Rivlin and the museum decided to turn the moment, which captured international attention, into a teaching moment, inviting the Geller family back for a special visit and hands-on activity to illustrate the restoration process.
Rivlin added that the incident provided a welcome distraction from the ongoing war in Gaza. “Well, he’s just a kid. So I think that somehow it touches the heart of the people in Israel and around the world,“ said Rivlin.
Roee Shafir, a restoration expert at the museum, said the repairs would be fairly simple, as the pieces were from a single, complete jar. Archaeologists often face the more daunting task of sifting through piles of shards from multiple objects and trying to piece them together.
Experts used 3D technology, hi-resolution videos, and special glue to painstakingly reconstruct the large jar.
Less than two weeks after it broke, the jar went back on display at the museum. The gluing process left small hairline cracks, and a few pieces are missing, but the jar’s impressive size remains.
The only noticeable difference in the exhibit was a new sign reading “please don’t touch.”
VICTORIA – The British Columbia government is partnering with a bear welfare group to reduce the number of bears being euthanized in the province.
Nicholas Scapillati, executive director of Grizzly Bear Foundation, said Monday that it comes after months-long discussions with the province on how to protect bears, with the goal to give the animals a “better and second chance at life in the wild.”
Scapillati said what’s exciting about the project is that the government is open to working with outside experts and the public.
“So, they’ll be working through Indigenous knowledge and scientific understanding, bringing in the latest techniques and training expertise from leading experts,” he said in an interview.
B.C. government data show conservation officers destroyed 603 black bears and 23 grizzly bears in 2023, while 154 black bears were killed by officers in the first six months of this year.
Scapillati said the group will publish a report with recommendations by next spring, while an independent oversight committee will be set up to review all bear encounters with conservation officers to provide advice to the government.
Environment Minister George Heyman said in a statement that they are looking for new ways to ensure conservation officers “have the trust of the communities they serve,” and the panel will make recommendations to enhance officer training and improve policies.
Lesley Fox, with the wildlife protection group The Fur-Bearers, said they’ve been calling for such a committee for decades.
“This move demonstrates the government is listening,” said Fox. “I suspect, because of the impending election, their listening skills are potentially a little sharper than they normally are.”
Fox said the partnership came from “a place of long frustration” as provincial conservation officers kill more than 500 black bears every year on average, and the public is “no longer tolerating this kind of approach.”
“I think that the conservation officer service and the B.C. government are aware they need to change, and certainly the public has been asking for it,” said Fox.
Fox said there’s a lot of optimism about the new partnership, but, as with any government, there will likely be a lot of red tape to get through.
“I think speed is going to be important, whether or not the committee has the ability to make change and make change relatively quickly without having to study an issue to death, ” said Fox.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 9, 2024.
