Photo Courtesy: ukhrultimes
Imphal: An international team of astronomers at the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan has discovered a massive protocluster existing 12.6 billion years ago. Led by observational astronomer Ronaldo Laishram, the researchers named the structure the Loktak Protocluster. It serves as a vital case study for understanding how dense environments influenced the development of galaxies in the early universe.
Protoclusters act as the construction sites for the largest structures seen in the modern universe. Laishram and his team utilized the Subaru Telescope to conduct a sky survey, identifying the region by tracking Lyman-alpha emissions, which are signals typically released by young galaxies with active star formation. The team chose the name to honor Loktak Lake in Manipur, as the structure consists of four distinct galaxy concentrations that appear to float together like the islands found in the lake.
By comparing these galaxies to those in typical regions, the researchers used ultraviolet and optical light to analyze their characteristics. While ultraviolet light revealed similar active star-forming centers, optical data showed that galaxies within the protocluster were 1.4 times larger than their counterparts. This indicates that galaxies in such dense environments possess more extended outer regions populated by older stars, proving that early surroundings play a definitive role in shaping galaxy growth.
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