Astronomers Research a presently caught a dwarf galaxy giving birth to an even tinier galaxy

For the 1st time, astronomers have witnessed a small dwarf galaxy forming an still tinier galaxy, confirm the idea that galaxies of any mass can accrete – or bring jointly – smaller galaxies.

"In extra words, not only massive bodies cannibalise smaller ones that occur to lie in their surroundings, but the same hunger and digestion capabilities can be establish in the smaller ones," says team member Monica Tosi, from the Italian National organization of Astrophysics (INAF).

Understanding how these ultra-tiny galaxies form and then join into larger galaxies will expectantly enable researchers to improve understand how our galaxy – and the Universe as a whole – came to appear the way it does.

To make their observation, the team used the great Binocular Telescope (LBT) in Arizona to learn a dwarf galaxy known as DDO 68 that events only 100 million solar masses, which is only one-thousandth the mass of the Milky Way.

While examining DDO 68, the team establishes that there were really a bunch of super-small galaxies forming about it via the process of accretion.

This happen when matter – dust and other space debris – gets pulled jointly by the gravity of a galaxy, causing a latest, smaller galaxy to form. As the new galaxy gets better, it will likely be 'eaten' by the galaxy that accreted it.

Guide researcher Francesca Annibali says what they saw remind them of a quote by Jonathan Swift:

    "'So, naturalists observe, a flea has smaller fleas that on him prey; and these have smaller silent to bite 'em; and so go on ad infinitum.' It turns out that even the smallest of galaxies feed on companion that are still smaller, and so our paper bears that quote in its title."

Over time, dwarf galaxies will consume sufficient smaller 'flea' galaxies to turn into full-fledged galaxies like the Milky Way.

This process has been predicted by computer models for some time. Now, the team was lastly able to verify the model by observing it event in the night sky.

"It is very interesting to find out that a system whose gravitational potential is too low to keep ejecta from supernovae is still capable of attract and accreting smaller galaxies," Tosi said.

"Specific dynamical and hydrodynamical studies are needed to understand what main mechanisms are at play here."

Guys, we've got one more astronomical mystery on our hands here.