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Something mysterious is killing 11,000 nearby galaxies

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A

Admodieus

Member
This whole trilogy is worth reading, but this book is particularly relevant

deathsend.jpg
Click to expand...
 
E

efyu_lemonardo

May I have a cookie?
twobear said:
If this is widespread and cuts the potential 'lifespan' of these galaxies by a significant amount, wouldn't it mean that our current models of the long-term future of the universe are wrong by a few billion years?
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I'm not a physicist, but that seems like the logical conclusion.
 
O

Omegasquash

Member
twobear said:
If this is widespread and cuts the potential 'lifespan' of these galaxies by a significant amount, wouldn't it mean that our current models of the long-term future of the universe are wrong by a few billion years?
Click to expand...

Possibly. I don't have the time on hand during the day today to read through the study completely, but at a glance it appears probable. No new stars in that galaxy, but with all that gas, maybe new stars/galaxies would be sparked, so to speak.
 
Z

Zelias

Banned
Did someone mention the son of the famous scientist Bardock around Broly? You really shouldn't trigger him - he was terrorized by <REDACTED> crying.

A lot.

For, like, three hours.
 
C

Capra

Member
You ever think about the idea that, at any moment, some massive unavoidable phenomenon in space could sweep by our solar system and erase our existence in the blink of an eye?
 
F

Fuchsdh

Member
Ok, well no one else has posted it...

thedoomsdaymachinehd1567.jpg
Click to expand...

Actually reading the article this sounds like one of those fun facts that doesn't really matter, the same way our sun will eventually expire long after humans or whatever we evolve into will probably have met our fate.
 
A

All Possible Ways

Member
Ok, I will try to explain this as best as I can.

All galaxies have roughly spherical halo of Dark Matter around them. This extra mass is enough to account for the anomalous rotation curves of galaxies, which show that the luminous matter in the form of stars and gas is not enough to account for the large rotation speed of the galaxy far from the center.

This paper refers to satellite galaxies. As the name indicates, these are galaxies that are orbiting a larger galaxy. An example being the Large Magellanic Cloud, which is a satellite of the Milky Way.

These satellite galaxies are moving in the larger Dark Matter Halo that envelops the galaxy they are orbiting, and in moving through this medium they interact with each other and the surrounding interstellar gas.

What this paper shows is that satellite galaxies in denser halos tend to have less gas in them, which quenches star formation. The hypothesis is that this gas was stripped as the galaxy plunges though the intergalatic medium, which is full of very very hot (T~10^7 K), tenuous and very very tenous gas (density~10^(-4) cm^3). The effect is analogous to what happens to a meteorite when it rams into our atmosphere.

Now, this does not mean that the Dark Matter is directly stripping the gas, which cannot happen, since by interactions between DM and ordinary matter are only gravitational, and so very weak. What seems to be happening is that in denser haloes, the gravitational force on the satellite galaxies is larger and so the galaxies tend to move through the medium at a faster speed, increasing the friction and the stripping of their gas. Galaxies with less gas in them have less material to make new stars with, hence, their "death".

Needless to say, don't panic, this has nothing to do with doomsday scenarios and even if it was happening to the Milky Way, you wouldn't even notice it.
 
L

Litan

Member
All Possible Ways said:
Ok, I will try to explain this as best as I can.

All galaxies have roughly spherical halo of Dark Matter around them. This extra mass is enough to account for the anomalous rotation curves of galaxies, which show that the luminous matter in the form of stars and gas is not enough to account for the large rotation speed of the galaxy far from the center.

This paper refers to satellite galaxies. As the name indicates, these are galaxies that are orbiting a larger galaxy. An example being the Large Magellanic Cloud, which is a satellite of the Milky Way.

These satellite galaxies are moving in the larger Dark Matter Halo that envelops the galaxy they are orbiting, and in moving through this medium they interact with each other and the surrounding interstellar gas.

What this paper shows is that satellite galaxies in denser halos tend
to have less gas in them, which quenches star formation. The hypothesis is that this gas was stripped as the galaxy plunges though the intergalatic medium, which is full of very very hot (T~10^7 K), tenuous and very very tenous gas (density~10^4 cm^3). The effect is analogous to what happens to a meteorite when it rams into our atmosphere.

Now, this does not mean that the Dark Matter is directly stripping the gas, which cannot happen, since by interactions between DM and ordinary matter are only gravitational, and so very weak. What seems to be happening is that in denser haloes, the gravitational force on the satellite galaxies is larger and so the galaxies tend to move through the medium at a faster speed, increasing the friction and the stripping of their gas. Galaxies with less gas in them have less material to make new stars with, hence, their "death".

Needless to say, don't panic, this has nothing to do with doomsday scenarios and even if it was happening to the Milky Way, you wouldn't even notice it.
Click to expand...

WE'RE DOOMED!!! DOOMED, I TELL 'YA!!!
 
D

Disxo

Member
All Possible Ways said:
Ok, I will try to explain this as best as I can.

All galaxies have roughly spherical halo of Dark Matter around them. This extra mass is enough to account for the anomalous rotation curves of galaxies, which show that the luminous matter in the form of stars and gas is not enough to account for the large rotation speed of the galaxy far from the center.

This paper refers to satellite galaxies. As the name indicates, these are galaxies that are orbiting a larger galaxy. An example being the Large Magellanic Cloud, which is a satellite of the Milky Way.

These satellite galaxies are moving in the larger Dark Matter Halo that envelops the galaxy they are orbiting, and in moving through this medium they interact with each other and the surrounding interstellar gas.

What this paper shows is that satellite galaxies in denser halos tend
to have less gas in them, which quenches star formation. The hypothesis is that this gas was stripped as the galaxy plunges though the intergalatic medium, which is full of very very hot (T~10^7 K), tenuous and very very tenous gas (density~10^4 cm^3). The effect is analogous to what happens to a meteorite when it rams into our atmosphere.

Now, this does not mean that the Dark Matter is directly stripping the gas, which cannot happen, since by interactions between DM and ordinary matter are only gravitational, and so very weak. What seems to be happening is that in denser haloes, the gravitational force on the satellite galaxies is larger and so the galaxies tend to move through the medium at a faster speed, increasing the friction and the stripping of their gas. Galaxies with less gas in them have less material to make new stars with, hence, their "death".

Needless to say, don't panic, this has nothing to do with doomsday scenarios and even if it was happening to the Milky Way, you wouldn't even notice it.
Click to expand...
It took 3 pages for an actual post xd
 
S

Simmins

Member
“That is not dead which can eternal lie,
And with strange aeons even death may die.”

The time is near friends.

"Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn"
 
D

daveo42

Banned
Galaxies are turning their lights off in the hopes that we think they aren't home and want to go there to escape Donald Trump.
 
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