The spiral arms of galaxies are among the most recognizable galactic features, yet we still know little about their precise formation mechanism. Today’s paper leverages new data from the Gaia mission to test some of the leading theories.
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A series of papers between two research groups, investigating the nature of an unusual distant galaxy.
Hint: It’s not mitochondria.
Nearby spiral galaxies aren’t metalheads, but they might have lots of metals in their arms.
Some galaxies live peaceful lives, calmly making stars at a sedate pace, with supermassive black holes that don’t vomit jets of material. Other galaxies… not so much. Come to Professor Julie Comerford’s upcoming #AAS232 talk to learn more about the weird and wonderful world of active galactic nuclei!