New snapshot of oldest spiral galaxy reveals seismic wave similar to ripples in water

A recent photo of an apparently ancient galaxy with its distinctive properties could help scientists understand the formation of and the origins of the Milky Way galaxy. The path-breaking picture of the 12 billion-year-old spiral galaxy gives more detailed information on its structure.

The ancient galaxy is named BRI 1335-0417 and is also known by astronomers as the furthest spiral galaxy. The new snapshot was clicked by a state-of-the-art telescope called (Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array) ALMA, said lead author Dr Takafumi Tsukui.

Tsukui said that their motive with this new snapshot of the galaxy is to study the movement of gas in and throughout the galaxy.

“Gas is a key ingredient for forming stars and can give us important clues about how a galaxy is actually fuelling its star formation", Dr Tsukui said. But to his surprise, his team was not just only able to capture the motion of gas but also detected a seismic wave in the BRI 1335-0417. This is the first time that seismic activity has been revealed in a galaxy.

Oldest galaxy revealed galactic motion and seismic wave activity

The photo revealed an intriguing detail about the BRI 1335-0417 galaxy’s disk, which is a flattened mass of rotating stars, gas, and dust that moves in a way that is similar to ripples spreading on a pond after a stone is thrown into it. This can be held as a strong cue to know more about how the galaxy was formed.

Take a look here.

“The vertically oscillating motion of the disk is due to an external source, either from new gas streaming into the galaxy or by coming into contact with other smaller galaxies,” Dr Tsukui said.

Both these possibilities would bombard the galaxy with new fuel for star formation.

Also, the study revealed a bar-like structure in the disk, known as galactic bars. These galactic bars can disrupt gas and transport it towards the centre of the galaxy, as per Dr Tsukui.

“The bar discovered in BRI 1335-0417 is the most distant known structure of this kind. Together, these results show the dynamic growth of a young galaxy”, concluded Dr Tsukui.

(With inputs from agencies)