'Bull's-eye!' Hubble telescope spots record-shattering 9-ring galaxy — and the cosmic 'dart' that smashed through its center

Daftar Isi

Astronomers have identified a "bull's-eye" galaxy with a remarkable nine rings, outshining the previous record of having six rings held by another galaxy. The discovery of the galaxy, known as LEDA 1313424, is contributing to researchers' understanding of the effects of galaxies colliding.

Their findings appeared on February 4 in The Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Scientists believe a miniature galaxy collided with LEDA 1313424's centre approximately 50 million years ago. This collision triggered shockwaves that rippled through the larger galaxy like waves in a pond. These waves then forced compressed clouds of cosmic gas and dust into rings, producing areas where new star formation is taking place. These new regions are now shining as bright concentric circles around the galaxy's "bull's-eye."

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There is a very short window in time when a galaxy like this would have as many rings.

In addition to setting records, LEDA 1313424's rings help to verify past predictions about how such galactic structures form. "That theory was developed for the day that someone would see such a large number of rings," Van Dokkum said.

Rather than being spaced out evenly like a target, the rings are bunched together around the centre of the galaxy and spread further out. This implies that the first few rings formed relatively quickly and moved widely, carried by the speed from the initial impact. The remaining rings arrived together more gradually and travelled less as the disturbance started to calm down.

The plan is for launch in May 2027. Featuring a field of view a whopping 100 times bigger than Hubble's, it aims to capture images of light from millions, or possibly even billions, of galaxies during its operational lifespan.