The James Webb Space Telescope, in one of its observations, found a galaxy very similar to the Milky Way. Still in the process of being formed and called “Sparkler”, astronomers point out that it can be a valuable key to discover data on the evolution of the Universe.
the sparkler galaxy
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Research on the Sparkler Galaxy was conducted by Professor at Swinburne University, Australia, Duncan Forbes and Aaron Romanowsky, professor at San Jose State University, in the U.S. The observations were only possible thanks to the James Webb Space Telescope, which captured the first color image released in 2022.
Globular Clusters
Globular clusters are the oldest stellar systems in the Universe, composed of groups of millions of stars gravitationally bound together. The Sparkler galaxy would be feeding on these sets of stars in order to grow, just as the Milky Way did in the past.
Training
The Sparkler galaxy, found in the constellation of Volans, is 9 billion years old, which means it formed 4 billion years after the Big Bang. The Sparkler galaxy had only 3% of the mass of the Milky Way, but this size could increase according to the measure that it is "feeding".
Similarities to the Milky Way
Scientists observed similarities between Sparkler and our galaxy after analyzing the globular clusters that surround the Sparkler galaxy. They found that the star clusters resembled the youngest versions of about 200 globular clusters seen around the Milky Way.
Conclusion
Discovery of the Sparkler Galaxy is a unique opportunity to study cluster formation globular stars and an infant Milky Way at a time when the universe was only a third of its age current. With the help of the James Webb Space Telescope, it is expected to obtain more information about the evolution of the Universe.