Distant, Big Galaxies Caught Cannibalizing Smaller Ones

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Distant, Big Galaxies Caught Cannibalizing Smaller Ones
Stellar streams around the spiral galaxy M 63 show remnants of a satellite galaxy that M 63 has swallowed. The central part is an ordinary positive image; in the outer regions, the negative of the image is shown (darker areas show brighter light). In this way, the faint structures that are the target of this survey are more readily discerned. (Image credit: D. Martínez-Delgado (MPIA))

Massive, distant galaxies have been spotted gorging on smallerones to build up their bulk in a far-flung cannibal feast, scientists report.

Galactic cannibalism has been seen before ? even theMilky Way is guilty ? but now scientists have observed the cosmic behaviorin distant galaxies beyond our cosmic neighborhood. [Photo of cannibal galaxy at work.]

The study found that major tidal streams with masses between1 and 5 percent of the galaxy's total mass are quite common in spiral galaxies.The discovery will be detailed in the October issue of the Astronomical Journal.

 

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