Interesting Galaxy Found Spewing Gas Bubbles

Astronomers operating the NASA Hubble Space Telescope were surprised to look at a photo of a normal dwarf galaxy, and see that it was actually spewing out numerous gas bubbles in its surroundings. This is the first time experts see such an event taking place.

The huge bubbles of gas can be seen glowing in the new Hubble photograph, and so investigators are currently trying to establish the nature of the violent process that drove them out of their home. Dwarf galaxies are already very small, having access to only limited amounts of molecular hydrogen gas.

The chemical is absolutely vital for galactic growth, since it can be used inside stellar nurseries to create new, blue stars. Without it, there is no way for a dwarf galaxy to grow, or even to endure. As its older stars die out, the galaxy itself dissolves.

As such, seeing the M81 galaxy group member Holmberg II shedding its already-dwindling gas supplies was a surprise to experts. The entire galaxy is located around 9.8 million light-years away from Earth, which is relatively close in astronomical terms.

According to investigators quoted by Space, most of the bubbles may come from previous supernova explosions that literally ripped through the galaxy, displacing massive volumes of molecular hydrogen.

As massive stars explode into supernovae, their expanding outer layers cause explosions that send shock waves throughout their surroundings. This can lead to heavy chemical being dispersed throughout stellar nursery, or to the nebulae being themselves ejected from their host galaxies.

The dramatic effect in the new Hubble image is further emphasized by the fact that dwarf galaxies such as Holmberg II don't generally have regular or remarkable shape. Rather, they appear to be patches of stars coming together, like a group of gravitationally-bound star clusters.

Experts say that this photograph, snapped with Hubble's Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS), includes data collected in both the infrared and visible-light regions of the electromagnetic spectrum.

One of the reasons why the bubbles persisted for so long is that the area around them has very little mass. As such, there are no gravitational forces present to distort their shape. At this point, astronomers are trying to determine the age of these structures.

What's even weirder about this galaxy is that it appears to be the home of an intermediate-mass black hole, an object experts have been looking for for a very long time. On telescope data, the object registers as a superluminous X-ray source.