Galaxies

A team of astronomers has for the first time traced the full evolutionary history of a galaxy beyond the Milky Way by analyzing its chemical composition. Using oxygen mappings of the spiral galaxy NGC 1365 and comparing them to simulations, researchers detailed its growth over 12 billion years. The findings, published in Nature Astronomy, reveal an early-forming core and outer regions built through mergers.

March 20, 2026 Reported by AI

A University of Arizona team has determined that the Small Magellanic Cloud's chaotic star motions result from a collision with the Large Magellanic Cloud hundreds of millions of years ago. This impact disrupted the galaxy's structure and created an illusion of rotating gas. The findings, published in The Astrophysical Journal, challenge the SMC's role as a typical galactic example.

Using the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have identified Cloud-9, a gas-rich cloud dominated by dark matter with no stars, marking the first confirmed example of a failed galaxy. This relic from the early universe provides insights into cosmic evolution and dark matter structures. The discovery confirms predictions about starless hydrogen clouds known as RELHICs.

January 08, 2026 Reported by AI

New details on the galaxy cluster SPT2349-56, observed just 1.4 billion years after the Big Bang, reveal three supermassive black holes likely responsible for heating its gas to five times hotter than models predict—building on initial ALMA observations reported earlier this week.