Nasa found that there were far fewer galaxies than previously thought, numbering billions over trillions.
- Earlier estimates suggested that there are about two trillion galaxies.
- But new data from Nasa’s New Horizons spacecraft suggest that’s not the case.
- Nasa now estimates there are hundreds of billions of galaxies.
Nasa revealed there are far fewer galaxies in the universe than previously thought.
The new measurements taken by Nasa’s New Horizon spacecraft bring hundreds of millions more than previously reported two trillion.
The findings suggest that the universe may be less crowded than previously projected.
The Milky Way may be one of the billions of galaxies in the universe, instead of the trillions previously estimated.
In the study, Nasa took a new measure of the weak background fluorescence from invisible galaxies.
Mark Postman from the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore and lead author of the study said: ‘It is an important figure to know how many galaxies are there? We can’t see light from two trillion galaxies. ‘
The previous estimates came from deep sky observations by NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope.
However, Hubble relies on mathematical models to estimate the number of galaxies, as many of the galaxies are believed to be beyond the ability of space telescopes to detect in visible light.
Unfortunately, Hubble continues to suffer from light pollution from its location in the inner solar system.
To overcome this problem, Nasa turned to the New Horizons spacecraft, which found the sky around 10 timers darker than the darkest sky Hubble could see.
Tod Lauer of NSF’s NOIRLab, the lead author of the study, said: ‘This kind of measurement is very difficult. Many people have tried this for a long time.
‘New Horizons gives us a better viewpoint to measure the background of cosmic light than anyone could.’
Nasa turned to the New Horizons spacecraft, which touched the surrounding sky 10 timers darker than the darkest sky Hubble saw.
The team analyzed existing images from New Horizons to estimate the number of galaxies it contained.
Nasa was forced to remove the light from the Milky Way stars reflected in the camera to extract the faint background.
Fortunately, the rest of the signals are measurable, allowing for a more accurate approximation of the number of galaxies.
Nasa is currently planning a follow-up study with the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope.
Nasa said: ‘NASA’s upcoming James Webb Space Telescope may be able to help solve the mystery. If individual galaxies were the cause, then Webb’s extra-deep field observations could have been detected. ‘
This study was accepted for publication in a journal. Astrophysical Journal
What is MONSTER GALAXY?
Monster galaxies, also known as starburst galaxies, are the ancestors of larger galaxies such as the Milky Way in the current universe.
Antiques appeared shortly after the Big Bang and are characterized by rapid star formation and mass growth, producing new stars at rates thousands of times greater than our own galaxies.
This leads to smaller galaxies. But it’s incredibly dense, which quickly burns through all the cosmic gases – the ‘fuel’ used to create new stars.
When they partially use this gas within about 100 million years of birth, they either stand still, or ‘red and die’ galaxies that are common in our universe today.
Scientists hope that the study of the mysterious object will provide answers to important questions about the formation and evolution of modern galaxies such as the Milky Way.
Monster galaxies, also known as starburst galaxies, are the ancestors of larger galaxies such as the Milky Way in the current universe. This picture is the artist’s impression of ZF-COSMOS-20115 Monster galaxy discovered in 2017
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