Astronomers discover billions of dwarf galaxies in the cosmic network

For the first time, astronomers have studied in detail several strands of the cosmic web – the gaseous hydrogen structures in which galaxies form – and it turns out that they are filled with billions of previously unknown dwarf galaxies. .

And Astronomy & Astrophysics notes that although the gas filaments that galaxies are born into have been predicted by many cosmic models, no one has yet followed. Therefore, all that was known about the structure of the cosmic lattice was limited to a few specific regions along the propagation of the quasar rays, which act like car headlights, clouds of “flashing” gas along. line of sight.

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But today, scientists from the French Astrophysical Research Center of Lyon, in cooperation with the University of the Côte d’Azur (University of the Côte d’Azur), have been able to discover and study several strands of the cosmic network directly at using the MUSE multifunctional spectral device. , which is the main component of the adaptive optics system, and provides Ultra HD images, installed on ESO’s Very Large Telescope in Chile.

In their study, the researchers selected part of the so-called Hubble Super Field (HUDF), which is an image of a small region of space collected from data obtained by the Hubble Space Telescope during the period of 24 September 2003 to January. 16, 2004. Researchers observed this portion over a period of 140 It took an hour to analyze and process the data and images of the hydrogen filaments that formed 1 to 2 billion years after the Big Bang, or more than a year.

And it became clear to the researchers that although HUDF is the most cosmic region studied by scientists, 40% of the galaxies they discovered by MUSE bear no similarity to what was discovered by “Hubble”.

The researchers were very surprised to find that the light from gas filaments was emitted by an invisible group of billions of invisible dwarf galaxies and a large number of stars. Scientists previously believed that this glow was caused by the propagation of background ultraviolet radiation, which heats the gas filaments and makes them luminous.

Source: Novosti

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