An international group of astronomers detected signs of rotation in a galaxy in the early universe, through the ALMA radio telescope, located in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. It is the youngest galaxy ever found, with a measured rotation, and it is much slower than current galaxies, indicates Universe Today and cites the RT portal.
According to those responsible for the research, published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, the galaxy, called ‘MACS1149-JD1’, could be observed through its redshifted emissionswhich were obtained by the ALMA telescope.
Likewise, they commented that it was possible to determine both the speed of movement and the date of formation from the analysis of the red shift phenomenon, which occurs when electromagnetic radiation in the form of light, which is emitted by the galaxy, is approaches the longest wavelengths of the spectrum visible to the human eye.
The astronomers showed that MACS1149-JD1 has a rotation, having measured minute differences in redshift from one position to another within the galaxy. Later, after modeling the galaxy as a rotating disk, the team discovered that it rotates slowly, since its rotation speed is about 50 kilometers per secondcompared to the speed of the disk of the Milky Way, which is 200 kilometers per second.
“The rate of rotation of JD1 is much slower than that found in galaxies of later epochs and in our own galaxy, and it is likely that JD1 is in an early stage of development of a rotational motion,” he said. Professor Akio Inoue.
In the case of its dimensions, it was determined that its diameter is only 3,000 light years, while that of the Milky Way is 100,000 light years. The results of the study allowed scientists to deduce that it is the most distant and oldest galaxy found so far, which has a rotating disk of gas and stars.
They also ensured that by studying the age of stellar objects and the movement of stars and gas in the galaxy, it is possible to determine what stage of evolution it has reached. On the other hand, the mass calculated from the speed of rotation of the galaxy allowed us to know that its stars were formed about 300 million years ago. “This shows that the stellar population of JD1 formed even earlier in the cosmic era.”said Takuya Hashimoto, a professor at the University of Tsukuba (Japan).
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