Free Astronomy Magazine January-February 2022

42 JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2022 ASTRO PUBLISHING T hese science images show the molecular lines and dust contin- uum seen in ALMA observations of the pair of early massive galaxies known as SPT0311-58. On left: A composite image combining the dust continuum with molecular lines for H 2 O and CO. On right: The dust con- tinuum seen in red (top), molecular line for H 2 O shown in blue (2 nd from top), molecular line transitions for carbon monoxide, CO(6-5) shown in purple (middle), CO(7-6) shown in magenta (second from bottom), and CO(10-9) shown in pinks and deep blue (bottom). [ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/ NRAO)/S. Dagnello (NRAO)] emission in this massive galaxy. This correlation could be used to develop water as a tracer of star formation, which could then be applied to gal- axies on a cosmological scale.” Studying the first galaxies to form in the Universe helps scientists to bet- ter understand the birth, growth, and evolution of the Universe, and everything in it, including the Solar System and Earth. “Early galaxies are forming stars at a rate thousands of times that of the Milky Way,” said Jarugula. “Studying the gas and dust content of these early galaxies in- forms us of their properties, such as how many stars are being formed, the rate at which gas is converted into stars, how galaxies interact with each other and with the interstellar medium, and more.” According to Jarugula, there’s plenty left to learn about SPT0311-58 and the galaxies of the early Universe. “This study not only provides an- swers about where, and how far away, water can exist in the Uni- verse, but also has given rise to a big question: How has so much gas and dust assembled to form stars and galaxies so early in the Universe? The answer requires further study of these and similar star-forming galax- ies to get a better understanding of the structural formation and evolu- tion of the early Universe.” “This exciting result, which shows the power of ALMA, adds to a grow- ing collection of observations of the early Universe,” said Joe Pesce, as- trophysicist and ALMA Program Di- rector at the National Science Foun- dation. “These molecules, important to life on Earth, are forming as soon as they can, and their observation is giving us insight into the funda- mental processes of a Universe very much different from today’s.” traviolet radiation from the stars in the galaxy and re-emits it as far-in- frared photons,” said Jarugula. “This further excites the water molecules, giving rise to the water emission that scientists are able to observe. In this case, it helped us to detect water !