Cosmos Redshift 7 (also known as COSMOS Redshift 7, Galaxy Cosmos Redshift 7, Galaxy CR7 or CR7) is a
high-redshift Lyman-alpha emitter galaxy
A galaxy is a Physical system, system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar medium, interstellar gas, cosmic dust, dust, and dark matter bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek ' (), literally 'milky', ...
. At a
redshift
In physics, a redshift is an increase in the wavelength, and corresponding decrease in the frequency and photon energy, of electromagnetic radiation (such as light). The opposite change, a decrease in wavelength and increase in frequency and e ...
z = 6.6,
the galaxy is observed as it was about 800 million years after the
Big Bang
The Big Bang is a physical theory that describes how the universe expanded from an initial state of high density and temperature. Various cosmological models based on the Big Bang concept explain a broad range of phenomena, including th ...
, during the
epoch of reionisation.
With a
light travel time of 12.9 billion years, it is one of the oldest,
most distant galaxies known.
CR7 shows some of the expected signatures of
Population III stars
In 1944, Walter Baade categorized groups of stars within the Milky Way into stellar populations.
In the abstract of the article by Baade, he recognizes that Jan Oort originally conceived this type of classification in 1926.
Baade observed tha ...
i.e. the first generation of stars produced during
early galaxy formation.
These signatures were detected in a bright pocket of blue stars; the rest of the galaxy contains redder Population II stars.
However, recent studies show no evidence for population III stars in CR7.
Description
Galaxy Cosmos Redshift 7 contains old
Population II (metal-poor) and possibly
Population III (stars with extremely poor
metallicity
In astronomy, metallicity is the Abundance of the chemical elements, abundance of Chemical element, elements present in an object that are heavier than hydrogen and helium. Most of the normal currently detectable (i.e. non-Dark matter, dark) matt ...
), according to astronomers,
and is three times brighter than the brightest distant galaxies (
redshift, z > 6)
detected up to the time of its discovery.
Discovery
Astronomers led by
David Sobral, a Reader in Astrophysics at the
University of Lancaster
Lancaster University (officially The University of Lancaster) is a collegiate public university, public research university in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established in 1964 by royal charter, as one of several new univer ...
, used the
Very Large Telescope
The Very Large Telescope (VLT) is an astronomical facility operated since 1998 by the European Southern Observatory, located on Cerro Paranal in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. It consists of four individual telescopes, each equipped with ...
(VLT) at the
European Southern Observatory
The European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere, commonly referred to as the European Southern Observatory (ESO), is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental research organisation made up of 16 m ...
—with help from the
W. M. Keck Observatory,
Subaru Telescope and the
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...
/
ESA Hubble Space Telescope
The Hubble Space Telescope (HST or Hubble) is a space telescope that was launched into low Earth orbit in 1990 and remains in operation. It was not the Orbiting Solar Observatory, first space telescope, but it is one of the largest and most ...
—made the discovery.
The research team included members of the
University of California, Riverside
The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Riverside, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of Cali ...
,
University of Geneva
The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public university, public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by French theologian John Calvin as a Theology, theological seminary. It rema ...
,
University of Leiden
Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange as a Protestant institution, it holds the distinction of being the oldest university in the Neth ...
and
University of Lisbon
The University of Lisbon (ULisboa; ) is a public university, public research university in Lisbon, and Portugal's largest university. It was founded in 1911, but the university's present structure dates to the 2013 merger of the former Universit ...
.
The name of the galaxy (''Cosmos Redshift 7 Galaxy)'' was inspired by football player
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro (; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for and Captain (association football), captains both Saudi Pr ...
, also popularly known as CR7.
See also
*
Galaxy formation and evolution
In cosmology, the study of galaxy formation and evolution is concerned with the processes that formed a heterogeneous universe from a homogeneous beginning, the formation of the first galaxies, the way galaxies change over time, and the process ...
*
List of galaxies
There are an estimated 100 billion galaxies in all of the observable universe.
On the order of 100,000 galaxies make up the Virgo Supercluster, Local Supercluster, and about 51 galaxies are in the Local Group (see list of nearest galaxies for a ...
*
Star formation
Star formation is the process by which dense regions within molecular clouds in interstellar space—sometimes referred to as "stellar nurseries" or "star-forming regions"—Jeans instability, collapse and form stars. As a branch of astronomy, sta ...
*
Stellar evolution
Stellar evolution is the process by which a star changes over the course of time. Depending on the mass of the star, its lifetime can range from a few million years for the most massive to trillions of years for the least massive, which is consi ...
References
External links
*
Cosmos Redshift 7 galaxyon Deep Space Map
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cosmos Redshift 7
?
Cristiano Ronaldo
Galaxies