The Hubble Space Telescope has discovered an isolated cosmic fossil that may offer new insights into galaxy formation.
Located about 3 million light-years from Earth, the Tucana dwarf galaxy galaxy Located at the far end of the Local Group of galaxies, which includes our Milky Way galaxy, this galaxy is home to older stars, leading researchers to believe it may contain traces of the early universe, Agency said in a statement.
“Having such pristine properties allows scientists to use the Tucana Dwarf as a cosmic telescope. fossil“Agency officials said in the statement releasing the new image on August 23rd.
Hubble's brilliant new image of the Tucana dwarf galaxy captures billions of bright stars stars against the dark background of space. Although these stars appear to shine brightly in the new image, they are actually relatively dim due to their age. Scientists refer to this type of galaxy as a dwarf spheroidal galaxy, which describes smaller galaxies with low luminosity, very little dust, and an older stellar population.
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“As a dwarf spheroidal galaxy, it is much smaller and less luminous than most other dwarf galaxies“Dust is sparse and the stellar population tends toward older stars, giving them a dimmer appearance,” Agency officials said in the statement.
The Tucana dwarf galaxy is located about 3.6 million light-years from the center of mass of the Local Group, which is quite far from the Milky Way and other galaxies. Researchers have suggested that the Tucana dwarf galaxy may have retreated to this remote corner of the cosmos after a close encounter with a larger neighboring galaxy, Andromeda, about 11 billion years ago. The gravitational forces created by such an interaction would have flung the smaller companion (which, in this case, was the Tucana dwarf galaxy) to a greater distance, according to the statement.
“Dwarf galaxies could be the early ingredients of larger galaxies, and with older stars residing in such an isolated environment, analyzing them can help trace galaxy formation back to the beginning of time,” Agency officials said in the statement.
Hubble was able to look through the Local Group to see the distant Tucana dwarf galaxy using its Advanced camera for surveys and the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2. Studying the galaxy's structure, composition, and stellar evolution will help researchers better understand the epoch of reionization, when the first stars and galaxies formed billions of years ago.