The rate at which galaxies produce Modern stars is not unvarying free-base on the age of the universe , but rather depends well on the conditions that the galaxies are in .
While the interaction of galaxies ' flows of cold gasolene play a role , one of the major drivers of star formation in the universe is actually " minor mergers " , consort to novel research . These minor mergers are responsible for about half of the star organization in the local cosmos . These finding are being announced at theNational Astronomy Meetingat the University of Nottingham this week .
Galaxy fusion are considered to be one of the key steps in a beetleweed ’s formation and phylogeny . merger occur when two or more galaxies collide . This interaction can radically alter the overall structure of the parent galaxies due to both the tidal force between the galaxies and the friction between the gas and junk that gets move around during the unconscious process .
venial mergers occur when one of the parent galaxies is at least three time tumid than the other . In this scenario , the bigger one will often " eat " the smaller one , absorbing most of its gas and stars , and this combined with gravitative interaction is what triggers more star formation .
“ The results are striking , ” say lead author Dr. Sugata Kaviraj of the University of Hertfordshire in astatement . “ Just over half of the cosmic star formation budget is direct drive by venial mergers . In other words , if this process did not take place then galaxies in today ’s universe would be at least a broker of two less massive . ”
modest merger do n’t interrupt the bigger galaxies , so spot these collisions ask high - quality mental imagery . The current data comes from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey , specifically from a spot of sky called Stripe 82 that has been find several times with many different telescopes .
next surveys like theLarge Synoptic Survey Telescopewill help deliver these high - quality images over a larger expanse of the sky in lodge to fully understand the role of minor mergers over cosmic meter .
