It’s really hard to see molecular hydrogen (the fuel that makes stars) directly, so astronomers have to use other spectral lines to guess how much is there. In today’s paper, the authors discuss how to do that in the smallest galaxies in the universe!
We’re still not sure what causes quasars, some of the brightest objects in the universe, to switch on. Today’s authors present a compelling case for galaxy mergers being the culprit!
Galaxy clusters like to relax, but it takes most of them a long time to get there. In today’s paper, the authors have found an exception to that rule!
Astrophysics is a lot like life in that sometimes the journey matters more than the destination. In today’s paper, which looks at the Hydrogen Lyman-α spectral line in a high-redshift protocluster, that’s absolutely the case!
Galaxy mergers are violent places, which makes simulating their effects on fragile molecular clouds very difficult. The authors of today’s paper manage to do it anyway!