Home   >   Features   >   Issues   >   Science   >   Article     

Are galaxies full of gas space's missing link?

July 15 2003
By Stephen Cauchi
Science Reporter

Galaxies like our own Milky Way are chock-full of stars - about 100 billion at last count. But a small minority of galaxies are bloated and full of gas; gas that should have turned into stars, according to an Australian astronomer.

Brad Warren told an international astronomical conference in Sydney yesterday that about 20 nearby galaxies were the most extreme examples known of this phenomenon.

Mr Warren told the 25th triennial congress of the International Astronomical Union that these galaxies were a mystery to astronomers.

Most galaxies, he said, transformed gas into stars. "But the galaxies we have discovered have held back and we are not sure why," he said.

"Discovering this missing link will give us important insights into how, when and why galaxies such as our own formed."

Mr Warren, a researcher at the Australia National University, told The Age there was enough left-over hydrogen gas in our galaxy to form 50 billion stars - that is, an amount equal to half the actual number of stars.

By contrast, the gassy galaxies had 10 times more hydrogen gas than stars, he said. (Hydrogen is the most common element in the universe, and the basic building block for stars.)

"It is the first time they have been discovered with such prominent discrepancies between the amount of hydrogen gas and stars," he said.

Mr Warren said that the unformed galaxies might require the gravitational "nudge" of a neighbouring galaxy in order to start forming stars. "The gas clumps together and begins to form as stars." However, the unformed gassy galaxies may be too far from their neighbours for this to happen, he said.




In this section

For science, mummy speaks louder than words

Chances of meteorite calamity downgraded

Omar gets 'new tummy' and a fresh start in life

Doing your prostate a favour

GM food freeze leaves biotech firms 'out in cold'

Time in care can affect children's anxiety

Top scientist urges people to embrace gene technology

Chronic illness a heavy burden: study

Beware the Asian green mussel, pest among pests

Teen depression 'on rise'

Obesity may lead to Alzheimer's

Common metal linked to breast cancer

French spinal cord discovery offers promise

Bid to bring Lonesome George out of his shell

How science can tell if a cat really has a pedigree

The AgeMost viewed articles
From midnight AEST

  1. Rose makes sure it counts