Post by Logan on Mar 9, 2017 23:52:48 GMT -6
Distant galaxy yields evidence of the earliest generation of stars
March 8 (UPI) -- Scientists have been studying interstellar dust in the earliest, most distant galaxy seen by ALMA, gaining new insight into the formation of stars in the early universe.
In images rendered by ALMA, the galaxy A2744_YD4 appears as it existed when the universe was just 600 million years old, when the first stars and galaxies were still forming.
"Not only is A2744_YD4 the most distant galaxy yet observed by ALMA, but the detection of so much dust indicates early supernovae must have already polluted this galaxy," Nicolas Laporte, an astronomer at University College London, said in a news release.
Cosmic dust is composed of tiny grain of silicon, carbon and aluminium, forged in stars and scatter across interstellar space when stars explode in fiery deaths.
Read more: www.upi.com/Science_News/2017/03/08/Distant-galaxy-yields-evidence-of-the-earliest-generation-of-stars/4211488982041/?spt=slh&or=6