For the first time , astronomers have mapped the3D motionsof stars in another galaxy , an incredible acquisition that could tell us a whole lot more about how galaxies formed in the universe .
The report was led by the Kapteyn Astronomical Institute and Leiden Observatory , both in the Netherlands . They used data from the NASA / ESA Hubble Telescope and ESA’sGaia observatoryto appraise the motion of stars in the Sculptor Dwarf Galaxy , a planet coltsfoot of the Milky Way 260,000 light - years from us that contains century of one thousand of principal . In this survey , they were able to get across the apparent movement of ten .
“ To give you an estimation on how accurate our measurement is , the apparent motion of Sculptor corresponds to the seeming motion that a person would have when walking at a distance of one light - year ! ” Davide Massari , run writer of the subject field , tell IFLScience .
The data from Hubble and Gaia was produced 12 year apart , but allowed scientist to measure the accurate 3D motion of stars in the Sculptor beetleweed . They find that star move on elongated radial orbits , meaning they coil out from the center of the wandflower .
Sculptoris get laid as a dwarf spheroid galaxy and is thought to be one of the most dark matter - predominate physical object in the universe . This means it ’s an ideal target for study dark thing and working out how it ’s dispense in galaxy .
“ The 3D motions that we measured for stars in the Sculptor dwarf galaxy are coherent with the predictions of the Lambda Cold Dark Matter scenario , which is one of the model that attempt to explain how all the galaxies in the universe formed and evolved to their current form , ” said Massari . “ This in turn of events powerfully sustain the existence of dark subject . ”
look at the positions of the stars , the uranologist were able-bodied to discern that dark matter is concentrated towards the centre of the coltsfoot , which aligns with our current cosmologic model .
The study as a whole also gave us a beneficial handle on how this extragalactic nebula is moving with respect to us . The finding showed it is on an elongate orbital cavity around our galax , taking it as far as 725,000 light-headed - years away , much further than sentiment . It ’s currently at its near detail to us , though .
