Potential polar ring galaxy NGC 4632. Further investigation of polar ring structures can help us much better comprehend how galaxies progress. One of the primary hypotheses to explain the origin of polar rings is a merger where a bigger galaxy swallows a smaller one. If polar ring galaxies are more common than previously thought, this might mean that these mergers are more frequent.
Jayanne English, a member of the WALLABY research study group and also a specialist in astronomy image-making at the University of Manitoba, established the very first images of these gaseous polar ring galaxies using a mix of optical and radio data from the various telescopes.
” Polar ring galaxies are some of the most magnificent looking galaxies in the Universe. These findings suggest that one to three percent of close-by galaxies may have gaseous polar rings, which is much higher than suggested by optical telescopes.”
— Dr. Nathan Deg, scientist, Department of Physics, Engineering Physics & & and Astronomy, Queens University, Canada, and lead author on the research study
Historical Context and Implications
Although this is not the very first time that astronomers have observed polar ring galaxies, they are the first observed using the ASKAP telescope located at Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, CSIROs Murchison radio astronomy observatory on Wajarri Yamaji Country in Western Australia.
These brand-new detections in gas alone suggest polar ring galaxies might be more typical than previously thought.
” These results are a truly nice illustration of the significant worth of mapping the sky more deeply and more widely than has ever been done before. This is serendipity at its finest: we discovered things we definitely didnt anticipate to find.”
— Dr. Kristine Spekkens, Professor (cross-appointed from Royal Military College), Department of Physics, Engineering Physics & & and Astronomy, Queens University, Canada
Understanding How Galaxies Evolve
Further investigation of polar ring structures can help us much better comprehend how galaxies progress. One of the primary hypotheses to explain the origin of polar rings is a merger where a bigger galaxy swallows a smaller one. If polar ring galaxies are more common than previously thought, this could suggest that these mergers are more frequent.
In the future, polar ring galaxies can likewise be used to deepen our understanding of the universe, with potential applications in dark matter research. It is possible to utilize polar rings to penetrate the shape of dark matter of the host galaxy, which might lead to brand-new hints about the strange properties of the elusive compound.
” These new ASKAP observations, which reveal amazing ring-like structures around otherwise normal looking spiral nebula, recommend that the accretion of gas through interactions with gas-rich buddy galaxies is much more common than we formerly believed. WALLABY will be a remarkable resource to uncover lots of more of such systems in the future.”
— Professor Lister Staveley-Smith, WALLABY Co-Principal Investigator and Interim Executive Director. ICRAR
Visualizing Polar Ring Galaxies
Jayanne English, a member of the WALLABY research study group and also a specialist in astronomy image-making at the University of Manitoba, established the very first pictures of these gaseous polar ring galaxies utilizing a combination of optical and radio data from the different telescopes. Initially, infrared and optical information from the Subaru telescope in Hawaii supplied the image for the spiral disk of the galaxy. Then, the gaseous ring was added based upon information acquired from the WALLABY study, a global task using CSIROs ASKAP radio telescope to find atomic hydrogen emission from about half a million galaxies.
” Our ASKAP radio telescope is delivering a flood of information and we are all set for it. Using ASKAP, complete WALLABY will provide more than 200,000 hydrogen-rich galaxies amongst them numerous unusual objects like polar rings, which can be used to penetrate the shape and distribution of the dark matter halos.”
— Dr. Bärbel Koribalski, Senior Principal Research Scientist, CSIRO
Because they include details that our eyes cant catch, the development of this and other astronomical images are all composite. In this particular case, the cold hydrogen gas element, unnoticeable to the human eye, is seen in radio “light” utilizing CSIROs ASKAP. The subtle color gradient of this ring represents the orbital motions of the gas, with purple-ish tints at the bottom tracing gas that approaches the viewer while the leading part relocations away. The emission from the ring was separated from the radio emission emanating from the galaxys disk utilizing virtual truth tools, in collaboration with Professor Tom Jarrett (University of Cape Town, South Africa).
” Im thrilled to work with such a diverse and collective group. We had the ability to work with information that revealed a great grid of velocity channels, which are equivalent to the radio stations on your old-fashioned radio receiver. The richness of the speed data meant I could designate multiple colours to this composite to subtly convey the motion happening within the polar ring. The dance and choreography of the gas are gorgeous, and that movement of the gas provides us some hints as to how galaxies progress with time.”
— Dr. Jayanne English, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manitoba
Over 25 global partners from Canada, Australia, South Africa, Ecuador, Burkina Faso, Germany, China, and beyond collaborated to evaluate the data from the very first public information release of the WALLABY survey, leading to the newly released paper.
The next action for the team is to validate the polar ring galaxies discovering through extra observations utilizing different telescopes, including the MeerKAT radio telescope in South Africa.
” One of the most exciting results of a big survey such as WALLABY, which will scan the majority of the Southern sky to carry out the largest census of neutral atomic hydrogen ever done, is finding the unexpected– these uncommon galaxies with stunning gas rings are ideal examples of this.”
— Assistant Professor Barbara Catinella, WALLABY Co-Principal Investigator and co-author of this study. ICRAR, The University of Western Australia
Referral:” WALLABY pilot study: the potential polar ring galaxies NGC 4632 and NGC 6156 ″ by N Deg, R Palleske, K Spekkens, J Wang, T Jarrett, J English, X Lin, J Yeung, J R Mould, B Catinella, H Dénes, A Elagali, B -Q For, P Kamphuis, B S Koribalski, K Lee-Waddell, C Murugeshan, S Oh, J Rhee, P Serra, T Westmeier, O I Wong, K Bekki, A Bosma, C Carignan, B W Holwerda and N Yu, 13 September 2023, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.DOI: 10.1093/ mnras/stad2312.
Prospective polar ring galaxy NGC 4632. The picture shows a gaseous ring perpendicularly circulating the main spiral disk of the galaxy. Credit: Jayanne English (U. Manitoba), Nathan Deg (Queens U.) & & WALLABY Survey, CSIRO/ ASKAP, NAOJ/ Subaru Telescope
Queens scientists lead the discovery of 2 prospective polar ring galaxies.
A group of worldwide astronomers, including researchers from Queens University, has recognized two potential polar ring galaxies, according to outcomes released on September 13 in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
Queens scientists Nathan Deg and Kristine Spekkens (Physics, Engineering Physics & & Astronomy )led the analysis of information acquired utilizing a telescope owned and operated by CSIRO, Australias nationwide science agency. Taking a look at sky maps of hydrogen gas in over 600 galaxies as part of CSIROs ASKAP radio telescopes WALLABY survey, they determined 2 prospective polar ring galaxies, a type of galaxy that exhibits a ring of stars and gas perpendicular to its primary spiral disk.