Latest news with #CarlosFrenk
Yahoo
16-07-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
What astronomers recently discovered about space using supercomputers
There could be many more satellite galaxies orbiting the Milky Way than previously thought or observed, according to astronomers. As many as 100 undiscovered galaxies that are too faint to be seen could be surrounding the galaxy that houses Earth and the solar system, new research has found. MORE: Webb telescope discovers stars forming in 'toe beans' of Cat's Paw Nebula Cosmologists at Durham University in England made the discovery using a new technique that combines the highest-resolution supercomputer simulations in existence with mathematical modeling, they announced at the Royal Astronomical Society's National Astronomy Meeting in Durham on Friday. The supercomputer predicted the existence of missing "orphan" galaxies -- suggesting that up to 100 or more satellite galaxies are orbiting the Milky Way at close distances. "We know the Milky Way has some 60 confirmed companion satellite galaxies, but we think there should be dozens more of these faint galaxies orbiting around the Milky Way at close distances," said Isabel Santos-Santos, the lead researcher at Durham University's Institute for Computational Cosmology, in a statement. If the galaxies are seen by telescopes, it could provide strong support for the theory on Lambda Cold Dark Matter -- the standard model of cosmology that explains the large-scale structure how galaxies form, the researchers said. The model suggests that galaxies form in the center of "gigantic" clumps of dark matter called halos and hypothesizes that ordinary matter in the form of atoms represents only 5% of the Universe's total content, while 25% is cold dark matter, and the remaining 70% is dark energy. MORE: Astronomers spot 'interstellar object' speeding through solar system Most of the galaxies in the Universe are satellite low-mass dwarf galaxies that orbit around a more massive galaxy, such as the Milky Way, according to astronomers. The existence of these galaxies poses challenges to LCDM because the model suggests the presence of many more companion galaxies than previous simulations have produced, the researchers said. But the new technique allowed the scientists to track the abundance, distribution and properties of the orphan galaxies. The model provides "clear illustration" of the power of physics and mathematics, Carlos Frenk, a co-researcher at the Institute for Computational Cosmology, said in a statement. "Using the laws of physics, solved using a large supercomputer, and mathematical modelling we can make precise predictions that astronomers, equipped with new, powerful telescopes, can test," Frenk said. "It doesn't get much better than this." Existing cosmological simulations do not have the resolution needed to study the faint satellite galaxies, the experts said. They also lack the precision needed to study the evolution of the small dark matter halos that host the dwarf galaxies, which leads to the artificial disruption of some halos, according to the researchers. "If our predictions are right, it adds more weight to the Lambda Cold Dark Matter theory of the formation and evolution of structure in the Universe," Santos-Santos said. MORE: How astronomers used gravitational lensing to discover 44 new stars in distant galaxy New advances in telescopes and instruments could eventually give astronomers the ability to detect the faint objects through viewing. "One day soon we may be able to see these 'missing' galaxies, which would be hugely exciting and could tell us more about how the Universe came to be as we see it today," Santos-Santos said.
15-07-2025
- Science
100 undiscovered galaxies could be orbiting the Milky Way, according to new research
There could be many more satellite galaxies orbiting the Milky Way than previously thought or observed, according to astronomers. As many as 100 undiscovered galaxies that are too faint to be seen could be surrounding the galaxy that houses Earth and the solar system, new research has found. Cosmologists at Durham University in England made the discovery using a new technique that combines the highest-resolution supercomputer simulations in existence with mathematical modeling, they announced at the Royal Astronomical Society's National Astronomy Meeting in Durham on Friday. The supercomputer predicted the existence of missing "orphan" galaxies -- suggesting that up to 100 or more satellite galaxies are orbiting the Milky Way at close distances. "We know the Milky Way has some 60 confirmed companion satellite galaxies, but we think there should be dozens more of these faint galaxies orbiting around the Milky Way at close distances," said Isabel Santos-Santos, the lead researcher at Durham University's Institute for Computational Cosmology, in a statement. If the galaxies are seen by telescopes, it could provide strong support for the theory on Lambda Cold Dark Matter -- the standard model of cosmology that explains the large-scale structure how galaxies form, the researchers said. The model suggests that galaxies form in the center of "gigantic" clumps of dark matter called halos and hypothesizes that ordinary matter in the form of atoms represents only 5% of the Universe's total content, while 25% is cold dark matter, and the remaining 70% is dark energy. Most of the galaxies in the Universe are satellite low-mass dwarf galaxies that orbit around a more massive galaxy, such as the Milky Way, according to astronomers. The existence of these galaxies poses challenges to LCDM because the model suggests the presence of many more companion galaxies than previous simulations have produced, the researchers said. But the new technique allowed the scientists to track the abundance, distribution and properties of the orphan galaxies. The model provides "clear illustration" of the power of physics and mathematics, Carlos Frenk, a co-researcher at the Institute for Computational Cosmology, said in a statement. "Using the laws of physics, solved using a large supercomputer, and mathematical modelling we can make precise predictions that astronomers, equipped with new, powerful telescopes, can test," Frenk said. "It doesn't get much better than this." Existing cosmological simulations do not have the resolution needed to study the faint satellite galaxies, the experts said. They also lack the precision needed to study the evolution of the small dark matter halos that host the dwarf galaxies, which leads to the artificial disruption of some halos, according to the researchers. "If our predictions are right, it adds more weight to the Lambda Cold Dark Matter theory of the formation and evolution of structure in the Universe," Santos-Santos said. New advances in telescopes and instruments could eventually give astronomers the ability to detect the faint objects through viewing. "One day soon we may be able to see these 'missing' galaxies, which would be hugely exciting and could tell us more about how the Universe came to be as we see it today," Santos-Santos said.
Gizmodo
14-07-2025
- Science
- Gizmodo
Dozens of ‘Ghost Galaxies' Are Orbiting the Milky Way, Astronomers Suspect
The Lambda Cold Dark Matter (LCDM) theory suggests that most galaxies are low-mass dwarf galaxies, many of which orbit larger galaxies like the Milky Way. More broadly, the LCDM represents our best understanding of how the universe works. But there's a problem. According to the theory, the Milky Way should have significantly more satellite galaxies than scientists have observed with telescopes and predicted with computer simulations. By combining the highest-resolution supercomputer simulations to date with new mathematical modeling, cosmologists at Durham University in the U.K. suggest there might be up to 100 previously unidentified galaxies orbiting the Milky Way, effectively tracking down our galaxy's 'missing' companions. If future telescopes detect these galaxies directly, it would further bolster the reliability of the LCDM theory, the most widely accepted standard model of large-scale cosmology. 'If the population of very faint satellites that we are predicting is discovered with new data, it would be a remarkable success of the LCDM theory of galaxy formation,' Carlos Frenk, a cosmologist from Durham University, said in a university statement. 'Using the laws of physics, solved using a large supercomputer, and mathematical modelling we can make precise predictions that astronomers, equipped with new, powerful telescopes, can test. It doesn't get much better than this.' According to the LCDM theory, 5% of the universe is made up of atoms, 25% of cold dark matter (CDM), and 70% of dark energy. Furthermore, galaxies are born within assemblages of dark matter called halos. Prior to this new approach, the researchers claim that even the best cosmological simulations were unable to study very faint galaxies or the evolution of their dark matter halos over billions of years. The simulations basically lost the halos of the consequently 'orphaned' galaxies. According to the ongoing research presented at the Royal Astronomical Society's National Astronomy Meeting earlier this month, Frenk and his colleagues' novel technique indicates the presence of faint halos of dark matter potentially hosting orphaned satellite galaxies. They estimated the abundance, distribution, and properties of these 'ghost' galaxies (as they're also called in another Durham University press release) and suggested that the Milky Way's gravity may have stripped them almost completely of said dark matter halos as well as their stellar mass. 'We know the Milky Way has some 60 confirmed companion satellite galaxies, but we think there should be dozens more of these faint galaxies orbiting around the Milky Way at close distances,' said Durham University's Isabel Santos-Santos, also a cosmologist and co-lead researcher along with Frenk. 'Observational astronomers are using our predictions as a benchmark with which to compare the new data they are obtaining. One day soon we may be able to see these 'missing' galaxies, which would be hugely exciting and could tell us more about how the Universe came to be as we see it today.' While the universe still hides innumerable mysteries, it seems like sometimes we're on the right track.
NDTV
03-06-2025
- Science
- NDTV
Milky Way To Collide With Its Largest Neighbour Andromeda? What New Study Said
Quick Read Summary is AI generated, newsroom reviewed. A new study suggests the Milky Way may not collide with Andromeda as previously thought. The chance of a head-on collision in 4.5 billion years is only 2%, with a 50% chance within 10 billion years. Astronomers have long believed that the Milky Way galaxy may collide head-on with its largest neighbour, the Andromeda galaxy, in about 4.5 billion years. But a new study shows the cosmic clash, named Milkomeda, might not happen the way it was thought. The new data, obtained using the Hubble and Gaia space telescopes, indicates the likelihood of the Milky Way and Andromeda colliding within the next 4 to 5 billion years is only 2 per cent, CNN reported. It also says there is a roughly 50 per cent chance they will collide at some point in the next 10 billion years. Earlier, scientists believed the collision may destroy both galaxies, merging them into an elongated one. The reason was that the two galaxies were moving toward each other at 2,24,000 miles per hour. They expected it to be similar to other galaxy collisions where a merger would create cosmic fireworks. Carlos Frenk, a Professor at Durham University in England and study co-author, said, "Until now we thought this was the fate that awaited our Milky Way galaxy. We now know that there is a very good chance that we may avoid that scary destiny". Dr Till Sawala, astronomer at the University of Helsinki in Finland and the lead author of the study, said the merger may create a strong starburst where many new stars would form. After that, many young stars will explode, and the supermassive black hole at the centre will become very active, sending out a lot of radiation, he said. A few billion years after the merger, the two original galaxies will no longer look like they used to; instead, they will turn into one spiral-shaped galaxy called an elliptical galaxy, said Mr Sawala. Our corner of the universe, called the Local Group, consists of 100 other smaller galaxies, including some large ones like the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and the Triangulum Galaxy. M33 is an Andromeda satellite, whereas the LMC orbits the Milky Way. Mr Frenk cautions that the Milky Way is more likely to collide with the LMC in the next 2 billion years, which might drastically alter our galaxy. Mr Sawala said, "The extra mass of Andromeda's satellite galaxy M33 pulls the Milky Way a little bit more towards it." According to Geraint Lewis, an astrophysics professor at the Institute for Astronomy at the University of Sydney, scientists are unsure whether the Milky Way and Andromeda will collide, but even if they do, the gravitational pull that each will exert on the other is likely to leave the two massive galaxies in an awful situation.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
The Milky Way was on a collision course with a neighboring galaxy. Not anymore
More than a decade ago, scientists predicted our Milky Way galaxy and neighboring Andromeda would collide in four billion years, resulting in a 'makeover' of our solar system. Now, that is unlikely — at least within the expected timeframe. 'We see external galaxies often colliding and merging with other galaxies, sometimes producing the equivalent of cosmic fireworks when gas, driven to the center of the merger remnant, feeds a central black hole emitting an enormous amount of radiation, before irrevocably falling into the hole,' explained Durham University Professor Carlos Frenk. 'Until now we thought this was the fate that awaited our Milky Way galaxy,' he said in a statement. 'We now know that there is a very good chance that we may avoid that scary destiny.' Previous research from NASA astronomers had found that the collision with our closest neighbor galaxy would fling the sun to a new region of space, although the Earth would not be destroyed. The stars would be sent into different orbits. Right now, the galaxies are heading toward each other with a speed of approximately 62 miles per second. But, following 100,000 simulations of both galaxies based on the latest observational data from NASA's Hubble and the European Space Agency's Gaia space telescopes, the authors of the study that was published in the journal Nature Astronomy found just a 2 percent probability that the Milky Way and Andromeda would crash into each other over the course of the next five billion years. In more than half of the scenarios, the galaxies experienced at least one close encounter before they lost enough orbital energy to collide and merge. However, that would occur in some eight-to-10 billion years. By that time, the sun may have burnt itself out when it runs out of hydrogen, consuming the Earth. But, in most other cases, the galaxies pass each other by without incident, although there is room for uncertainty. Furthermore, the authors assert that previous research was not incorrect, but that they were able to incorporate more variables in their simulations. 'While some earlier works had focused on the interaction between the Milky Way, Andromeda, and the Triangulum galaxy, we also include the effect of the Large Magellanic Cloud,' lead author Dr. Till Sawala, of the University of Helsinki, said. The cloud is a dwarf galaxy that orbits the Milky Way. 'Although its mass is only around 15 percent of the Milky Way's, its gravitational pull directed perpendicular to the orbit with Andromeda perturbs the Milky Way's motion enough to significantly reduce the chance of a merger with the Andromeda galaxy.' However, the authors are already looking to update their findings with new data. The European Space Agency's Gaia space telescope will soon provide more precise measurements of crucial factors within the galaxies, including the motion of Andromeda. Still, Frenk said the results are a 'testimony' to the power of large supercomputers. 'When I see the results of our calculations, I am astonished that we are able to simulate with such precision the evolution of gigantic collections of stars over billions of years and figure out their ultimate fate,' he added.
