NGC 1277, moving at 2 million mph, has barely changed since the early universe formed.
Key Takeaways:
- Astronomers have identified NGC 1277 as a rare “relic galaxy” unchanged for 10 billion years.
- Unlike most galaxies, it has almost no blue globular clusters, indicating minimal outside influence.
- The galaxy is racing through space at 2 million mph, preventing it from merging with others.
- Located 240 million light-years away, NGC 1277 provides insight into early galaxy formation.
- Future studies with the James Webb Space Telescope could reveal its dark matter content.
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A Rare Discovery in the Perseid Cluster
Astronomers Michael Beasley and Ignacio Trujillo from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias have identified an extraordinary “relic galaxy” called NGC 1277, which has remained nearly unchanged for the past 10 billion years. Such galaxies are exceptionally rare, with estimates suggesting only one in a thousand galaxies fits this category. The discovery was made using the Hubble Space Telescope, and scientists believe it offers an unprecedented look into the early universe.
NGC 1277 stands out due to its globular clusters—dense groups of stars that act as historical records of a galaxy’s formation. Typically, galaxies have both red and blue globular clusters. The red ones form early in a galaxy’s history, while the blue ones come from smaller galaxies that merge over time. However, NGC 1277 has almost no blue globular clusters, suggesting it has remained largely untouched since its birth. In contrast, our Milky Way has a mix of red and blue clusters due to its history of merging with other galaxies.
A Window Into the Early Universe
Despite its age, NGC 1277 is not located at the edge of the observable universe—it is relatively close at 240 million light-years away in the Perseid cluster, which contains over a thousand galaxies. The reason NGC 1277 has remained unchanged is likely due to its incredible speed. Traveling at 2 million miles per hour, it moves too fast to merge with other galaxies, preventing significant evolution.
Although it is only a quarter of the Milky Way’s size, NGC 1277 contains twice as many stars, making it an exciting target for further study. Beasley and Trujillo have also identified 10 other potential relic galaxies. With the help of the James Webb Space Telescope, launched in 2021, they hope to gain deeper insights into how NGC 1277’s globular clusters move and determine the galaxy’s dark matter content. This discovery challenges previous assumptions about galaxy evolution and provides astronomers with a rare opportunity to study the conditions of the early universe in detail.
