Astronomers in Australia have discovered seismic waves forming in BRI 1335-0417, an ancient spiral galaxy over 12 billion years old, making it the oldest and most distant known spiral galaxy in the universe.
Astronomers have detected seismic waves in the galaxy BRI 1335-0417. (Illustration: BNN Breaking)
Astronomers in Australia have made a groundbreaking discovery of seismic waves forming in the world’s first ancient galaxy. This research was conducted by a team of scientists from the Australian National University (ANU) and was published on December 22.
The ANU astronomers utilized the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) telescope in Chile to closely observe BRI 1335-0417, a distant galaxy over 12 billion years old, to gain deeper insights into its formation.
ALMA first detected BRI 1335-0417 in 2021. This galaxy is recognized as the oldest and farthest known spiral galaxy in the universe.
By using this telescope, the ANU researchers were able to capture the movement of gas around the galaxy BRI 1335-0417, as well as the formation of seismic waves—the first observed in a primordial spiral galaxy.
The lead author of the study, astronomer Takafumi Tsukui from the ANU Research School of Astronomy, stated that he and his colleagues are exploring how BRI 1335-0417 drives the star formation process within this galaxy.
In particular, they are focusing on how gas moves into and throughout the galaxy. Gas is a key component in star formation and can provide scientists with crucial clues about how galaxies actually contribute to the creation of stars.
The scientists found that new streams of gas move into the galaxy or interact with smaller galaxies, supplying “fuel” for star formation.
