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A Tiny Galaxy is Born

Posted by michael on from the baby-shower dept.

phlack writes "New images from the Hubble Telescope show a new galaxy (only 68 million light years away) is in the stages of being formed, despite its neighbors (such as us) having already existed for billions of years. This can give astronomers new insight into the sgates of galaxy formation. Information can be found at the hubble telescope site, as well as ScienceDaily."

13 of 36 comments (clear)

  1. Light.... by Cyno01 · · Score: 5, Funny
    (only 68 million light years away) is in the stages of being formed
    Uh, this galaxy was new 68 million years ago, its probably formed by now, /.: old news, stuff that mattered.
    --
    "Sic Semper Tyrannosaurus Rex."
    1. Re:Light.... by cperciva · · Score: 2, Informative

      Given that galaxies take hundreds of millions of years to form -- the article describes this one as about 100 million years old and still in the early stages of formation -- I doubt that the galaxy has formed yet.

      --
      Tarsnap: Online backups for the truly paranoid
    2. Re:Light.... by Simon+Field · · Score: 4, Funny


      Wouldn't that be "matter getting stuffed"?

      Actually, the point of the story is that this is "new". Most of the galaxies we see are billions of years old. To see one forming only 68 million years ago is unusual.

      Of course, the galaxy was discovered 20 years ago, so even that "news" is "olds".

      My favorite quote from the article is this one: "the young system sits in a region of comparatively empty space known as a void".
      Well, yes...

      --

      Free book: Science Toys You Can Make

    3. Re:Light.... by Spuffin · · Score: 2

      You have a point, albeit a small one. :) It doesn't really matter if it has formed now or what, what does matter is that the light is finally reaching us, therefor showing us it is being formed. We can continue to watch this stream of light and see it being formed as well as learning how it formed EVEN THOUGH (as you said) it has probably already been formed. It's not like we were planning to send out a probe to watch it develop.

    4. Re:Light.... by chaidawg · · Score: 2

      Interesting thought, and a prevalent one. However, I don't believe it is accurate. According to Feynman in his lecture on space and time, now is a relative term. Since, in Einstein's theories, nothing can travel faster than light, the now of the universe is what we can view now. Therefore the galaxy is forming now. Perhaps someone with a better grasp can clarify, but I believe that is the basic position.

    5. Re:Light.... by Planesdragon · · Score: 2

      Therefore the galaxy is forming now. Perhaps someone with a better grasp can clarify, but I believe that is the basic position.

      Sounds like limiting "the universe" to "the subjective universe." Or in other worde: sure, from a standpoint of how-much-plank-time-has-passed-since -the-time-of-creation that galaxy formed 68 million years ago--but as far as WE care, it's just forming now, since it took 68 million years for the effects of its creation to get here.

      OUR now is limited to what we can percieve--and it's a rather complex perspective, really. However, the "real now" keeps on going at the same rate everywhere as it does here--but the further you get away, the longer possible causality takes to sync between you and us.

  2. Darn... by Koos+Baster · · Score: 2, Funny

    You discovered my little terra-forming experiment...

    ...'Guess I'll have to make it even tinier, next time...

    --
    God is the only form of extraterrestrial life that we could ever possibly communicate with -- SETI is a joke, people

    1. Re:Darn... by program21 · · Score: 2

      And there are a great number of holes in the creationist theory too. Neither is perfect, and it's doubtful either will ever be 'proven' or 'disproven'.

      --
      This has been a test. Had this been a real emergency, we would have fled in terror and you would not have been informed.
  3. Stages of galaxy formation. by taphu · · Score: 4, Funny

    This can give astronomers new insight into the sgates of galaxy formation.

    Right, all we have to do is monitor it for a few hundred million years and we'll have the whole story!! :)

    1. Re:Stages of galaxy formation. by neurostar · · Score: 2

      Right, all we have to do is monitor it for a few hundred million years and we'll have the whole story!! :)

      Wait! You're forgetting the DMCA. Those scientists better stop researching that galaxy. After all, it's illegal to reverse engineer galaxy-formation.

      :)

    2. Re:Stages of galaxy formation. by Idarubicin · · Score: 2
      Right, all we have to do is monitor it for a few hundred million years and we'll have the whole story!! :)

      You think you're kidding, but why is this such a bad idea? Why shouldn't we be making an effort to plan extremely long term research projects? Maybe millions of years is a bit extreme, but how about centuries? Or even decades? What can we get started on?

      Humanity doesn't shy away from engineering projects that will require decades or even longer. We have run informal experiments on these timescales, as well.

      Why not plan for the future? Leave a legacy of science to future generations. Even if the original purpose of an experiment is superceded, the data collected can be valuable in ways we can't imagine. Let tomorrow's data miners unlock the secrets of the universe, instead of just developing new techniques to sell me crap.

      --
      ~Idarubicin
  4. Okay, repeat after me... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Creationism is NOT a THEORY. In order for it to be a theory, it must be first hypothesized, then tested through experiments. However, since it is based on faith and untestable preconditions, this is not possible!

    WAKE UP!!!

    If you think I'm wrong, post the name of an actual archeologist who follows this "theory"'s guidelines for performing his/her job. And post an Amazon link to a book detailing the legitimate alternative nomenclature to the flora and fauna that don't refer to their genus and species, because, after all they aren't related..

    "In creationism, species are described as "fixed" in the sense that they are believed not to change their form, or appearance, through time."
    - PBS.org

    Why is it that people forget that religion is the source of revelations such as the earth is FLAT, and the center of the universe?

    The only good that believing in gods ever did for us, was to give extra time to some otherwise intelligent people by allowing them to be priests instead of getting real jobs. At least they're not full time politicians.

    1. Re:Okay, repeat after me... by taphu · · Score: 2, Funny

      Why is it that people forget that religion is the source of revelations such as the earth is FLAT, and the center of the universe?

      Actually, given a suitably warped geometric framework, the earth is flat. Also, the rest of the universe can be considered to move around a stationary earth with the same mathematical validity as any other point in the universe. :)