14 DAY TRIAL // Scientists are witnessing the first dying galaxy, a dwarf galaxy not so far away from the Milky Way. While this phase of a galaxy's life has been predicted, it's the first time astronomers are able to see it happening.
The victim is transforming from an irregular dwarf galaxy into a dwarf elliptical galaxy. The former is gas-rich and actively churns out many new stars, while the latter is gas-poor and with little star formation activity.
The galaxy, IC3418, is 54 million years away from our own. It's leaving pockets of gas, known as fireballs, behind, while the main part of the galaxy settles into its elliptical shape and is mostly devoid of gas.
These fireballs are pushed from inside the galaxy by pressure from the gases around it and the other galaxies surrounding it.
The pockets of gas are lit up by the new stars that are created within. Meanwhile, no new stars are created inside the galaxy. Astronomers believe no new star was created there for the past 200 to 300 million years.
