Images of
galaxies from 11 billion years ago are arrayed here, showing that almost all of
the galaxies have a light profile similar to the disk galaxies in the local
universe.
Japanese
astronomers from the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Tokyo University, and Kyoto University in Japan obtained infrared and high-resolution images of
these galaxies using the adaptive optics (AO) system and the infrared camera
and spectrograph (IRCS) on the Subaru
Telescope. After removal of atmospheric blur by the AO system, high spatial
resolution imaging was achieved.
As a result
of this galactic study, the profiles and "frameworks" of these very
distant galaxies were revealed for the first time. The results show the light
distributions of the very distant galaxies have similar light profiles to the
flatter disk galaxies in the local universe.
The initial
findings showed that concentrated elliptical galaxies formed from the collision
and merging of extended disk galaxies between 11 billion and 8 billion years
ago. The profiles of the galaxies further away infer that the evolution of the
galaxies is more drastic between 11 and 8 billion years ago than the present
and 8 billion years ago.
The white
bar at the bottom right indicates 1 arcsec, corresponding to 25,000 light years
in the distant universe.
— Subaru Telescope, NAOJ and SPACE.com Staff
Credit: Subaru Telescope, NAOJ
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