scientist have unearth trace about the conditions present in the early macrocosm by analyze the unusual composition of an passing faint “ wimpy ” dwarf coltsfoot calledSegue 1 . The determination have been published inThe Astrophysical Journal .
Segue 1 is roughly75,000light years away from us and contains a scrimpy 1,000 principal more or less , which is an impressively low number considering your “ modal ” beetleweed will often contain about 1 million . It ’s also the faint-hearted galaxy expose so far . peculiarly , it seems that the growth of this galaxy was stunted middling early on in its evolution , allow a rather rude bundle of star that therefore offer an insight into the evolution of galaxies comparatively soon after the Big Bang .
“ It tells us how galaxies get started”said Anna Frebel , lead generator of the newspaper publisher and an adjunct prof of physics at theMassachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT ) . “ It ’s really adding another proportion to the stellar archeology , where we look back in prison term to study the era of the first wizard and first beetleweed organization . ”
The scientists used data point collected by theMagellan Telescopesin Chile and theKeck Observatoryin Hawaii in ordering to answer the chemical substance composition of the brightest virtuoso within this galaxy , which were six red giant star . violent giantsare very aglow yet relatively coolheaded go genius that are reaching the last stages of stellar evolution .
Theyfoundthat the stars within this wandflower had a strikingly low metal content , and all of the elements present that are heavier than helium probably came from a single supernova explosion that take place before long after the galaxy was birth . After this explosion , gas became in short supply and there was n’t enough to fuel the formation of more adept , and the galaxy stopped growing . concord to Frebel , this deficiency of star topology establishment is also why more of the fleshy elements could not be bring on .
More evidence for the apparent lack of star establishment add up from the observance that the galaxy also contain exceedingly low levels of neutron - capture elements , which are forged in intermediate - volume principal . “ This galaxy tried to become a fully grown coltsfoot , but it failed,”says Frebel .
Frebel also point out that Segue 1 is quite unlike other nanus galaxies that have been investigated so far , since those are merely miniaturized galaxy . This wandflower , on the other hand , is arrest in terms of evolution and retains a primitive chemical composition .
The data is exciting since Segue 1 is the first of its kind to be discover , and Galax urceolata such as this may aid to paint a more informative picture of the development of the existence . The team do n’t know how rare these extragalactic nebula are just yet , so it could be a while before another is discovered .