[AstroNet] First evidence of dark galaxies spotted

[Fikiswa Majola]

It's been a busy week for astronomy- first Pluto's 5th moon, now "dark
galaxies" observed!

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SANTIAGO: Astronomers in Chile have observed what appears to be evidence
of the existence of dark galaxies using a powerful telescope, the European
Southern Observatory (ESO) announced.

Dark galaxies are small, gas-rich galaxies from the early universe that
are believed to be the building blocks of today's bright, star-filled
galaxies, said the ESO, an intergovernmental organization supported by 15
countries.

"For the first time, dark galaxies – an early phase of galaxy formation,
predicted by theory but unobserved until now – may have been spotted," the
ESO said in a statement.

Illuminated by a quasar

"Using ESO's Very Large Telescope, an international team thinks they have
detected these elusive objects by observing them glowing as they are
illuminated by a quasar," it said.

The ESO is the most advanced astronomical observatory in the world, and
operates three sites in Chile.

The Very Large Telescope (VLT) array – a cluster of four telescopes that
can view objects four billion times fainter than objects visible to the
naked eye – is housed at the ESO's Paranal site in Chile's Atacama Desert.

Early stages of galaxy formation

"Our approach to the problem of detecting a dark galaxy was simply to
shine a bright light on it," researcher Simon Lilly said in the release.

"With this study, we've made a crucial step towards revealing and
understanding the obscure early stages of galaxy formation and how
galaxies acquired their gas," added his colleague, Sebastiano Cantalupo.

The ESO is supported by Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Britain, the Czech
Republic, Denmark, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands,
Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.


Link to article:

http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/5788/first-evidence-dark-galaxies-%E2%80%93-building-blocks-galaxies-%E2%80%93-observed


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Fikiswa Majola
Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRF)
Science Awareness Programme
Tel: 012 301 3220/100
Fax: 012 301 3300/20
http://www.hartrao.ac.za/

"Equipped with his five senses, man explores the universe around him and
calls the adventure Science."
-Edwin Hubble