Astronomers find star-less galaxy

Comet Hunter · #1 24-02-2005, 01:06 PM

Link

Makes you wonder what else is out there to be found...

ving (David) · #2 24-02-2005, 01:22 PM

hmm... very interesting. made me relook at my definition of the word "galaxy". I just assumed they all had stars cause thats what made the galaxies.

good find

Vermin (Tom) · #3 24-02-2005, 01:41 PM

How odd. I wonder what stopped the hydrogen gas condensing under it's own gravity?

RAJAH235 · #4 24-02-2005, 08:57 PM

Very interesting. I think one reason that a *star filled galaxy* may not have formed is that it didn't receive an external nudge from a S/N explosion or maybe it's just not dusty enough, or maybe the atoms are too wide spread. Who knows. Lots of weird stuff out there. I'm happy just to look at the local bits.

Vermin (Tom) · #5 24-02-2005, 10:13 PM

I don't think the lack of dust could be a reason as there was only hydrogen and a bit of helium available for the first stars.

Argonavis (William) · #6 03-03-2005, 09:27 PM

Correct me if I am wrong, and I haven't read their paper, only media reports, but a galaxy without stars does not strike me in any sense as being a galaxy, merely an intergalactic cloud of hydrogen. This Hydrogen would be neutral, I assume, as there is no ionising radiation to create HII regions.

If it's a galaxy, they can keep it. If it aint in the Hubble sequence, it just cant be a galaxy.

ballaratdragons (Ken) · #7 03-03-2005, 10:53 PM

Interesting word 'Galaxy'.

My neighbour has been at me again.
Galaxy is made up of 2 words.

'Ga' and 'Lactic'

'Ga' is a word meaning to pass through, to travel, or a road.
'Lactic' means to be fed the milk of Gods or something like that. (he waffled on about some woman that breast fed the Gods in Mythology)

But anyway, the history of the word 'Galaxy' means 'Milky Way'.

Our Galaxy! The others were known as Heavenly Bodies, and I can't remember the ancient words he used. But apparently, someone started calling them all 'Galaxy' (Milky Way) and it has stuck ever since.

So, in actual translation, they are all being called 'Milky Way'.

Just thought I would bore you for a while. (well, he does it to me, I'm just passing it on. Don't you hate people who study linguistics).

Argonavis (William) · #8 04-03-2005, 07:13 AM

Actually, the term "galaxy"did not become common until the 1950's, and only after the death of Edwin Hubble. He insisted on calling them extragalatic nebulae, and considering that he dominated this field of study, no-one contradicted him.

silvinator · #9 04-03-2005, 12:49 PM

This particular report that Andrew posted the link to calls this object a star-less galaxy because it behaves like and has the properties of a galaxy. If I may quote from the article itself, it says

Quote:

"A dark galaxy is an area in the Universe containing a large amount of mass that rotates like a galaxy, but contains no stars."

and

Quote:

"This hydrogen is thought to take the form of a flat disc of rotating material - which is what is seen in ordinary spiral galaxies."

So it may not contain the normal matter that galaxies have but it sure acts like one according to this report.
Whatever it is, it would be interesting to see if they can find other objects like it...

ving (David) · #10 04-03-2005, 12:54 PM

there are stick insects that act like sticks... doesnt make them sticks though does it?

silvinator · #11 04-03-2005, 02:43 PM

Don't make me get into semantics Ving!

stick insects look like sticks, not act like them...but I do understand what you are trying to say. I'm just pointing out what the article was trying to say in regards to why they are calling what they've found a galaxy.

In regards to what argonavis was saying, I think the difference between this hydrogen gas and other hydrogen gas clouds and why they aren't calling it just another molecular cloud of hydrogen gas is as I outlined above - that it behaves like a galaxy and is about as massive as one, so that's why they're calling it that for now. Chances are, this is probably a new type of object and then once confirmed, I'm sure they will designate an official name for it.

As to why there are no stars yet there is so much star forming material, I'll leave that up to the astrophysicists to debate over!

ving (David) · #12 04-03-2005, 02:56 PM

actually they do act like a stick silvie...
http://www.brookview.karoo.net/Stick...amouflage.html
its part of thier camoflage. in order to escapr their preditors they act like a stick gently swaying in the breeze so as to blend in with thier background. when a bird (or some other animal) sees it they think 'well nothing there unless i like eating sticks' then move on.

but i do see what you are saying too. they dont call stick insects "browny/grey thin insects", they call them stick insects cause thats what they look and act like.
and indeed they called this swirling gaseous mass a galaxy cause thats what it looks and acts like

ballaratdragons (Ken) · #13 04-03-2005, 03:09 PM

All the people that own Ford Galaxies are driving a car that actually means:

'Ford Breast-fed Roadway'. lol

<i>Posted by Argonavis:
He insisted on calling them extragalatic nebulae,</i>

That's very similar to the latin or Greek name my neighbour used!

janoskiss (Steve H) · #14 04-03-2005, 03:13 PM

WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]
galaxy
...
3: (astronomy) a collection of star systems; any of the
billions of systems each having many stars and nebulae and
dust; "`extragalactic nebula' is a former name for
`galaxy'" [syn: extragalactic nebula]

so it would seem stars are mandatory.

ballaratdragons (Ken) · #15 04-03-2005, 03:16 PM

So was the belief in a Flat Earth! What happened to that?

Argonavis (William) · #16 04-03-2005, 07:53 PM

I think that they are really Massive Intergalactic Clouds, or MIC's for short.