A latest study has quashed the existing belief that the galaxies were sans dust and only filled with gas. A group of astronomers undertook a study that concluded that there was dust in galaxy from the early universe and that only comprised of gases. The discovery points out to the fact that old galaxies were rather full of dust, which also contained elements such as carbon and oxygen that helped into formation of planets.
Dust Exists
The finding came into light when a group of international researchers led by Astrophysicist Darach Watson, from the Niels Bohr Institute at Denmarkâs University of Copenhagen, discovered Galaxy A1689-zD1, an ancient galaxy full of dust. Watson said that this is the first time when a galaxy consisting of dust particles is found. He elaborated that the galaxy came into existence just 700 million years after the Big Bang and is modest in size.
Seen Through Powerful Telescope
Watson was surprised by the rate of formation of galactic dust in the galaxy, beginning within just 500 million years of the start formation process. For Watson, this number is extremely short given the cosmological time frame, where most of the stars have billions of years of life. Also, the finding contradicts the existing theories that ruled out the existence of dust particles in galaxies. The presence of dust particles is significant as it supports the formation of both new stars and planets.
A1689-zD1 was detected due to its faint brightness amplified many times higher when seen through ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array) telescope in Chile, a powerful radio telescope. Meanwhile, Kirsten Knudsen of Chalmers University of Technology said that ALMA will help astronomers to find more such galaxies and help figure out the reason for the fast growth rate in galaxies. The results of the study were published in the scientific journal Nature.
