This information was reported by the Big Think publication, URA-Inform reports.
What kind of galaxy?
This unique and possibly previously unseen phenomenon opens up new horizons for understanding the processes of formation of stars and galaxies. The discovery was presented at the annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society.
This mysterious object has been named J0613+52 and is located approximately 270 million light years from Earth. Astronomers note that the object resembles a low surface brightness (LSB) galaxy—a galaxy that is significantly less luminous than other objects in the night sky. This is because the gases in such galaxies are so rare that few stars form in them. However, even under such conditions, the presence of a certain number of stars was assumed.
Features of the cosmic phenomenon
However, J0613+52 looks like it has no stars at all, making it unique and difficult to capture. Scientific speculation indicates that this may be a dark, primordial galaxy with special characteristics.
Karen O'Neill, a senior scientist at Green Bank Observatory, stressed that this may be the first detection of « ;a galaxy consisting of primordial gas».
How was the galaxy found?
Interestingly, this unexpected object was discovered due to an error in LSB study. A discrepancy in data between the two telescopes they used led scientists to re-evaluate their observations, and they discovered the object when the telescope was accidentally pointed at the wrong coordinates.
Additional research has shown that the galaxy has a rich supply of gas necessary for formation stars, and more. Scientists suggest that this galaxy contains from one to two billion solar masses of hydrogen inside and is clearly isolated from surrounding structures.
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