Laws of the galaxies unveiled
Wednesday, 07 Mar 2007 18:45
All galaxies have the same mathematic principles at heart, study claims
Science In Focus
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Despite the huge variety of galaxies in the universe some scientists now believe that they all have the same mathematic principles at heart.
Astronomers carrying out a major survey of distant galaxies found that the relation between a galaxy's mass and the orbital speed of its stars and gas is remarkably consistent.
This was the same across a wide variety of galaxies, whether they were orderly spirals or a chaotic merger.
Writing in a forthcoming special issue of Astrophysical Journal Letters, the researchers argue that certain fundamental properties of galaxies have changed very little over the past eight billion years.
Commenting on the newly-discovered principles, Sandra Faber, professor of astronomy and astrophysics at the University of California, said: "We think this trend reflects a regularity in the process that led to the formation of galaxies.
"We are not sure where it comes from, but it is a major constraint on galaxy formation."
New data from ground-based and space-based telescopes for 544 distant galaxies was studied. Dr Faber said that the mathematics involved made sense out of "very chaotic-looking objects".
"The galaxies almost magically fall into place," she added.
The research is published alongside other findings from the all-wavelength extended groth strip international survey (Aegis).